Pick Up The Pieces
by Red Witch
Summary: After the majority of events of The Final Chapter, both the X-Men and the Misfits must work together to rebuild not only Bayville, but mutantkind. With some help from GI Joe. This could be a problem...
1. The More Things Change

** The disclaimer telling all of you that I don't own any X-Men or GI Joe characters has gone off somewhere. Maybe Aruba? This is a series of stories connected to my Misfit Series. Takes place shortly after the events of Chapter 99 in The Final Chapter. **

**Pick Up The Pieces**

**Chapter One: The More Things Change**…

"Well Bayville's definitely looked better…" Emma Frost sighed as she looked out at the scenery from the tent. Her normally pure white uniform had smudges of dirt all over it.

"I don't think it's ever looked **worse,"** Scott said. He was in uniform. They looked at the barren landscape. To the east there were rows and rows of tents. In the west dozens of mutants were clearing away rubble and burning anything that wasn't salvageable. "Bayville used to be a pretty nice place to live."

"And it will be again," Ororo said. Several mutants were in the tent surrounding a table with maps. Along with Scott, Emma and Ororo there were Hank, Logan, Xavier, Rocker Danko the leader of the MLF and Althea 'Wavedancer' Delgado, leader of the Misfits.

"I'm just amazed so many mutants decided to stay," Althea said, absently putting a hand through her now light blue hair. It used to be black with dyed blue streaks in it, but since the battle to save the world and her transformation into Aqua Seraphim it had permanently changed to an aqua blue. She wasn't complaining. In fact she preferred it.

"Where are they going to go Wavedancer?" Rocker the horse faced leader of the MLF asked. He was wearing a black trench coat over his bare chest and black pants that showed off the hooves on his feet. "Besides a lot of mutants want to make a brand new start. And since this place has been officially named a mutant reservation, a lot of people aren't anxious to leave. Anxious period but not to leave. "

"People are antsy all right," Logan grunted. "Did you really have to put that telepathic whammy on them this morning Frost? Once people find out what you did…"

"Logan a lot of them didn't exactly take the news of the X-Men and Misfits being in charge of their safety very well," Rocker said. "Some of them still blame you lot for the war."

"And we all know they're not completely wrong," Scott sighed.

"There are already wild stories going around how everyone is going to be fingerprinted and tattooed like they did to the Jews in Nazi Germany," Emma gave him a look. "It's thanks to my mental nudges that have kept full scale riots from breaking out."

"There was no other choice," Xavier said. "It's merely to keep people calm inside the camp."

"Yeah well all those army tanks outside the borders and those SHIELD helicarriers flying around ain't exactly reassuring to everyone," Rocker scoffed. "No wonder they're spooked."

"SHIELD has never been a good thing for mutants. They won't even let me talk to Jean," Scott frowned. "Saying that they want to make sure that she's not possessed anymore. But she's not! I know it!"

"It's standard procedure with all possessions, Scott," Althea said. "SHIELD just wants to make sure the Phoenix can't get out and cause trouble again. And to be honest, I can't say I blame them."

"I know. It's just…" Scott sighed. "I just found Jean again and then we get separated."

"Shima's there too to keep an eye on her. Not to mention they're checking Warren out. And it's only for the rest of the week," Althea said. "It's already Wednesday. She'll be back by Sunday."

"And by then maybe we'll finally start cleaning up this town," Rocker grunted. "What's left of it. If we can afford it."

"Of all the challenges we have of rebuilding the mansion and Bayville, funding isn't one of them," Emma smirked. "Between myself, Charles and Warren I think we have more than enough money to handle that aspect. It's all the other ten thousand little aspects we have to deal with."

"If Bayville is going to be rebuilt it needs leaders and planners," Rocker said. "Specifically a separate leader in charge of building Bayville. The leader will act as a temporary mayor until things get settled down and elections can be held. And it might be a good idea if the leader isn't an X-Man or a Misfit."

"Let me guess, you want to nominate yourself for the position?" Logan scoffed.

"How many communities have **you** built from practically nothing?" Rocker gave him a look. "Do you know how to create and properly run a budget for a group of people? Know what supplies you need and what government aid is available? Not to mention the proper channels to go through to get that aid as well as the less obvious ones? What funds need to take priority over others? Water and sewage systems, how much do you know about that?"

"I guess being a Morlock you'd know all about sewage, wouldn't you?" Logan snorted.

"And then some," Rocker glared at him. "I have successfully run many businesses, underground communities of mutants as well as a mutant liberation squad. You don't have to wear a big X on your chest to know how to get things done."

"He has a point," Althea said.

"Oh come on! You're not seriously…" Logan snarled.

"Logan, we have to face reality," Xavier interrupted. "Mister Danko is right. We can't run Bayville and set up our new mutant policing protocols at the same time. It would become a military state and that's the last thing we need to present to the public."

"So what? You're just gonna turn it over to this guy and his own private army?" Logan asked.

"Last I checked **you're** the army around here," Rocker snapped. "Remember? You're the police! A lot of mutants may be alive because of you but not all of them are grateful for it. Mutants are on edge. We only barely survived extinction less than two weeks ago. No one knows how long this legislation will protect them or** if** it will protect them. Most people want to rebuild the wall around this town in order to keep out another Sentinel attack! And quite frankly, someone like you shoving your claws in their faces telling them what to do isn't going to help."

"Wolverine don't even think of it!" Emma warned before Logan shot out his claws. "Rocker is right. He is the best candidate for the job."

"How can you even **say** that?" Logan snapped.

"Because it's the truth," Scott snapped. "A lot of mutants respect the MLF as well as humans. Whatever else we think of Rocker we have to admit he is good at organizing and keeping things nonviolent. At least in appearances."

"I'm not looking to become the next mutant messiah or some dictator," Rocker said. "I want to build a place where mutants can live peacefully without fear. Where mutants can do more than just fight for their existence. We need to build mutant owned and run businesses as well as find humans that are willing to come here and live with us in peace."

Rocker looked at Xavier. "Believe it or not Xavier I too believe in your dream of humans and mutants living together in peace. I just want to go about it in a more practical matter. You know more spending and less spandex? I've already made some calls and contacted several human family members of the mutants that are staying here. The more accepting and tolerant ones. And some of them are willing to relocate here in order to be with their children. And if we help them build their businesses the entire community will thrive."

"What kind of businesses?" Althea asked.

"There's one family with two mutant kids that are a family of bakers," Rocker said. "A human father and his mutant son want to open a dry cleaning store. There's a human mother with some mutant kids who's a dental assistant. If we could find a dentist that would make things perfect. Things like that. I've got about twenty three humans moving here so far. It's not much but it's a start."

"We are going to need jobs and businesses if Bayville is going to survive and thrive," Emma agreed.

"Looks like you've got it all figured out then," Logan grunted.

"Not all of it. But I know which path to go on," Rocker said. "And with all your help we can get our people on the right track."

"All right, so what first?" Scott let out a breath.

"I'm making plans for the layout of the new town," Rocker said. "Including Avalanche we have at least five earth movers and rock manipulators. Lorna and Zaladane are our only metal manipulators but there are several mutants that are strong enough to bend metal with their hands or powers. There are quite a few people with carpentry and plumbing experience. With a little luck we can start repaving the roads and rebuilding houses as soon as tomorrow."

"Willow and I have rounded up a few mutants that are plant manipulators and we can make the town green again," Ororo spoke. "And once everything is fixed I can refill the reservoir."

"A few Joes have volunteered their services in the rebuilding," Althea said. "What about the Xavier Institute?"

"I've already called in the contractors and gotten permission to rebuild," Xavier said. "The new Institute will be twice as big with separate dorm buildings for the newer students."

"A hospital that can service both human and mutant patients is sorely needed," Hank said. "There's only one mutant left that has healing abilities."

"Mender?" Scott asked.

"No, she was killed in the battle, remember?" Emma said. "There was another mutant on Avalon that can heal."

"Doctor Reyes and I have made a few contacts," Hank told them. "There are a couple of doctors and nurses willing to relocate to Bayville and help build up the hospital."

"I've called Reed Richards and Tony Stark and they agreed to donate time and materials to help rebuild essential buildings," Xavier said.

"Calling in some of your Illuminati contacts huh?" Rocker grunted. "Guess your little boy's club is good for something."

"For once I agree with you," Logan admitted.

"Can we revisit **that** topic another time and focus on what needs to be done now?" Emma sighed.

"Right," Scott said. "Okay we need to establish some patrols. I'll send Shadowcat, Rogue, Nightcrawler and Colossus on the morning patrol. Mostly to make sure no fights are breaking out in the camp. They'll be relieved tonight by Wolverine, Boom Boom, Gambit, and Cannonball."

"A couple things wrong with that roster, Cyclops," Hank sighed. "Tabitha's code name is Meltdown now and she's off the active roster. She's pregnant."

"What? When?" Scott was stunned. "And I mean the pregnancy, not the name change!"

"Sam confessed she's been pregnant for almost two months," Hank sighed. "They've been keeping it a secret. Kitty knew too. And so did Xi."

"Really?" Althea raised an eyebrow. "That's news to me."

"Why am I not surprised that she's the **first** one of our girls to get knocked up?" Logan grumbled.

"Oh God of all the times to…" Scott staggered.

"Come on Scott we need new mutants and like it or not Tabitha's baby is a blessing," Emma said. "If it's a mutant."

"It's a mutant all right," Hank gave her a look. "Apparently that's what gave Tabitha an upgrade in her powers. Plus Xi confirmed it was."

"You know I wondered how she got so powerful so quickly in such a short range of time," Logan thought. "Wait are you saying…?"

"I don't know. Her new powers are somehow tied to her baby but we don't know for sure if the stress triggered them or if the baby itself had something to do with it," Hank said. "There's a slight chance Tabitha's powers could regress after the baby is born or they could grow even further."

"I can't believe she went into battle in her condition!" Ororo was stunned.

"I guess to Tabitha if we were all going to be killed it didn't matter much if she was pregnant or not," Althea said. "If we didn't stop the Sentinels and Apocalypse and…"

"We get it," Scott held up his hand. "How's…?"

"The baby itself is fine. But Tabitha is exhausted, both mentally and physically," Hank said. "I've confined her to bed rest back at the mansion in San Francisco. Danielle's looking after her. The battle took a lot out of the poor girl."

"Not to mention the fact that Amara's death hit her pretty hard," Logan sighed. "And we all know who's responsible for that."

"You're not responsible for Daken," Althea said.

"You have to admit my family's caused more than its share of pain in this damn war," Logan growled. "And they're still out there causing who knows what kind of trouble."

"I think even Sabertooth and the cubs are smart enough to stay under the radar for a while," Hank said. "They've pretty much burned their bridges with Magneto and anyone else."

"That only makes them more dangerous," Logan sighed.

"That's a topic for another meeting," Scott said. "We have to plan Bayville for now and set up the new mansion."

"I'm keeping some of my people in LA and San Francisco with the mutant communities there," Rocker told them. "I don't think it's a good idea to bring all the mutants in the world together in one place."

"Agreed," Scott sighed. "Last thing we need in the world is to be a giant target. Well more of a target than we already are."

"I don't think even the FOH and our worst enemies are going to attack us now," Bobby said. "There's too much damage all over the world for them to…"

"Don't be so sure," Rocker interrupted him. "Peace or not they'll find a way to stir things up."

"All the more reason to work together and keep our wits about," Emma nodded.

"It's not just the humans we have to worry about," Althea said. "Magneto took quite a few die hards off to Genosha to rebuild the island. And from what I've heard a lot of mutants from Europe and Asia are joining him."

"Let's not forget those Hounds that will stir up the MRD any chance they get," Logan pointed out.

"You won't have to worry about the MRD," Nick Fury walked into the tent. "As of an hour ago the president signed the papers officially disbanding them."

"Good riddance," Logan growled.

"Hey you X-Men and Misfits are the new official mutant police now so keeping the MRD is redundant," Fury shrugged. "Especially after all the corruption and the scandal linked to that organization."

"Can't believe a lot of those madmen are still walking around free after all the misery they caused," Ororo shook her head.

"Actually one of your first investigations is going to be into the activities of the MRD," Fury smirked. "Before he resigned Haskett gave a lot of information on the investigations in his own organization. Everything from murder to drug dealing and quite a few instances of corruption. And not all of it was mutant related."

"Haskett turned on his old organization just to keep from going to jail huh?" Logan growled.

"Not just him, half of the MRD wasn't exactly crazy about how the other half of the MRD was breaking the law so openly during the uprising," Fury said. "A lot of humans had their rights violated and want to see those guys in jail too. The problem is that it can't just all be humans prosecuted for what happened during that time. "The public needs to see at least one mutant brought to justice too."

"You aren't saying Jean…?" Ororo gasped.

"Since Jean was proven to be possessed by a powerful cosmic entity she's not going to be held responsible for what the Phoenix did," Fury said. "And so far she's passing all our doc's psyche tests with flying colors. It's not her we're interested in. Or Worthington because he was brainwashed too. It's the survivors of X-Force."

"You mean Willow and Multiple?" Althea asked.

"More specifically Multiple," Fury said.

"Why him and not Willow?" Emma asked.

"Because Willow wasn't photographed murdering dozens of people on camera," Fury said. "I have no doubt she did more than her fair share of killing. But she was smart enough to destroy almost all the evidence of it. Multiple on the other hand…" He pulled out some pictures. "We got these images from a black box in a secret government run facility out in Texas. These pictures clearly show Multiple and his dupes killing several scientists, including one Harper Pryce. A very well-known geneticist."

"And anti-mutant hater," Logan frowned.

"That building was owned and run by Richard Strand," Fury pointed to one picture. "And as you see in these other pictures from another security camera, Multiple and his dupes were filmed entering his house and killing him two days later."

"I know about Strand. He was one of Eddingtons' friends," Althea frowned. "Had a high tech company that specialized in weapons building. Then he started to make weapons specially designed to contain or kill mutants."

"He was also friends with a few other well-known people, including a few senators and generals," Fury said. "And those friends aren't too happy about what Multiple did."

"Wait Strand and this other guy killed a lot of mutants and tortured them in his labs," Althea said.

"True but Multiple also killed a lot of guards and researchers, as well as his butler and personal body guard," Fury said. "And at least one other mutant. Granted it was a mercy killing but still…"

"Goddess…" Ororo was stunned as she saw the pictures.

"My superiors are willing to make a plea bargain with Willow if she agrees to enter the custody of the Misfits and be rehabilitated," Fury said. "But they are not going to budge on Multiple. And the fact that he used to be an X-Man hasn't exactly escaped their attention. Or will the attention of the press."

"There's the **real** reason you're going after Multiple," Emma frowned.

"Look in order for this truce to work it can't just all be humans punished for their actions during the war," Fury pointed out. "At least one mutant is gonna have to take the blame and let's face it, Mr. Maddox is the best candidate."

"You're going after Jamie because he used to be one of us," Scott gritted his teeth.

"Used to, as in _past tense_," Fury said. "Willow was an Eloi before this whole thing. Who cares about a lesser known mutant from some group that no one has ever heard about? Multiple was one of you, an X-Man. And you are supposed to be the new police force for mutant kind. If you can't bring one of your own in…"

"So you want us to throw Jamie to the wolves for political reasons?" Hank snarled. "He's a teenage boy!"

"A teenage boy who's done plenty of killing," Fury said.

"It was war! He had no choice!" Hank shouted.

"And we have no choice Hank! You know what damage X-Force did," Emma said. "It's a small sacrifice that has to be made."

"Jamie is no damn sacrificial lamb!" Logan snapped.

"I agree," Ororo said. "This is reprehensible."

"For crying out loud Storm there's photographs and video of him ripping people apart with his bare hands!" Emma snapped. "You really think this is just going to go away?"

"It's not. If we're going to have any credibility we need to do our jobs," Scott sighed. "We have to bring Multiple in and turn him over to the authorities."

"Cyclops is right. None of us likes ratting out a fellow mutant but this is just too much," Rocker agreed. "See this is why I don't like to put my team on the evening news unless I have to."

"And the fact that Multiple's arrest will take away any attention the media would have on the MLF's activities wouldn't hurt," Fury grunted.

"If you have **any** evidence of MLF fowl play then by all means **show** me," Rocker challenge. "I will personally escort any one of my team to prison myself if you do!"

"You know there's no real evidence, not for lack of us looking," Fury grumbled.

"Because there is **no evidence** to find," Rocker said. "The MLF stresses peaceful coexistence with humanity."

"Funny how some of your most vocal critics of your peaceful organization end up dead or in prison," Fury quipped.

"The ones in prison were corrupt senators and businessmen lining their own pockets with taxpayer money," Rocker said calmly. "And living a very corrupt lifestyle. I would think anyone would be against that, mutant hater or not."

"What about all those guys in Purity or anti-mutant senators?" Fury asked. "You know, the ones who had heart attacks? All one hundred and fifty seven of them?"

"Well heart attacks are one of the leading causes of death in this country as well as other diseases linked with obesity," Rocker said. "Most of those people had terrible diets. The coroner report on every single one of them clearly does not state foul play."

"A very skilled telekinetic can induce a heart attack. There'd be no evidence and you know it!" Fury snapped. "What about that senator that was electrocuted in his own hot tub?"

"He put a radio too close to the water," Rocker said.

"Him and fifty other guys," Fury snapped. "Electrocutions of prominent men in hot tubs skyrocketed to a hundred and fifty percent during the Mutant Uprising! Particularly those areas where the MLF was known to inhabit!"

"This is not about the MLF," Rocker pointed out. "This is about your vendetta against a single mutant to make SHIELD look good. And you're hardly one to talk, Fury. Wolverine has told us all about certain operations in the past. You were more than willing to assassinate several people for the greater good. So don't act like you are better than the rest of us. Unlike SHIELD there are some depths that the MLF won't sink too."

"You're right on one thing, this isn't about the MLF," Fury said. "It's about Multiple."

"There is no choice," Xavier sighed. "Multiple must be held accountable for his actions."

"Is there a way to get him transferred to the Misfits?" Althea asked.

"Sorry Wavedancer, but my superiors and the public are out for blood on this," Fury sighed. "Some of these pictures have already leaked onto the Internet. It's just a matter of time. They want at least one mutant in jail."

"What about Shaw Jr. and some of those other losers from Madripoor?" Althea asked. "Why can't you make an example of them?"

"We are. However none of them were ever X-Men. Multiple has to spend some time behind bars but I think I might be able to pull some strings to cut his time short," Fury said. "I've seen some of those labs that X-Force raided. I know what went on there."

"And yet while the war was going on, you didn't lift a finger to do anything about them!" Logan barked.

"Like **you** didn't lift a finger to take down X-Force?" Fury snapped. "I know you and that Testukaeru whatever he is were there in Las Vegas that day. You remember? The day that mutant nearly destroyed the city."

Scott and the others were grateful that Fury and SHIELD had no clue that Todd was Tetsukaeru and Althea was Aqua Seraphim. "We were trying to stop X-Force from using Testukaeru to wage war," Scott said. This was basically the truth.

"Didn't work that well. You know none of you ever explained to me about that whole Tetsukaeru and Aqua Seraphim," Fury glared. "Who are they and where did they come from?"

"We told you, they are entities similar to the Phoenix bound to protect this world," Althea said. "With the Phoenix under control I don't think you'll see them for a while."

"Don't be too offended if I don't take your word for it," Fury said. "You are all aware that the president is planning to sign the Mutant Protection Act next week in accordance with your compliance for working for the government. It would be a shame if something would stop it and the X-Men and Misfits' competence would be called into question wouldn't it? It would mean SHIELD would have to pick up the slack."

"Yeah we get the message," Logan snarled. "Loud and clear."

"Good. I'm giving you two days to give me Multiple, which is more than generous!" Fury told him. "I expect the X-Men to hand over Multiple to my men by then." He left the tent.

"That son of a bitch," Logan snarled as Fury left in a helicopter.

"Like it or not we have to…" Scott began to discuss the situation.

"Wait check for bugs first," Rocker held up his hand. "Let's not talk too freely just now."

"Good idea," Logan took out a small scanner.

"Don't you think that's rather paranoid?" Hank asked.

"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you," Althea looked under the table. She pulled out a small transmitter. "Specially made."

"So it wouldn't come up on any scanners," Logan took it. "Nice try Fury!" He crushed it in his hand.

"I didn't even see him put it there," Scott said.

"Neither did I. Which tells you how good Fury is," Logan growled. He quickly inspected the outside of the tent. He came back with a destroyed metal bird in his claws. "Trusting little bastard isn't he?"

"I can't believe Fury would do that!" Hank gasped.

"I can," Rocker said. "Truce or not we can never fully trust SHIELD."

"Looks like we're clear," Althea said as she checked her scanner and the rest of the tent. "We can talk now."

"The subject of Multiple is certainly going to be a sore one," Hank sighed.

"I feel like we're betraying the kid when we didn't do that much different than what he did," Logan grunted.

"Logan we must pick our battles and fighting over Multiple is one fight we can't win," Emma said. "There are a lot of other mutants we need to watch over now."

"One must be sacrificed for the good of many," Hank mocked.

"We've heard **that **before," Logan said. "So how are we going to do this?"

"I'll talk to Jamie myself tomorrow and explain the situation," Scott said. "I wish I could think of another way. Thanks Wavedancer for at least trying to help Jamie."

"I'll see if I can do more," Althea said. "But right now I don't know what. I'm just grateful nobody noticed where Tetsukaeru and Aqua Seraphim came from."

"By the time they showed up most of the satellite cameras were either destroyed or focused on other parts of the world," Emma said. "And none of Fury or his lackeys were close enough to see…Well you get the idea. Everything was rather chaotic."

"Too busy to notice you and Toad suddenly disappearing from the fight," Rocker nodded. "The humans can't know about you two. If they did…"

"We're too tempting a target. I know," Althea said. "And so does Todd."

"Can't believe that nobody's figured out that your hair and Aqua Seraphim's hair is the same shade of blue," Scott blinked.

"Women dye their hair all the time," Althea smirked. "Blue is the latest fashion. Right Beast?"

"You have to admit it's not exactly an uncommon color among mutants," Hank smirked.

"Hey guys! You have to see this!" Todd burst in with Lance, Fred and Bobby behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Logan groaned.

"Did you tell them yet?" Lance asked.

"Not yet," Althea smirked.

"Ooh! Good! I wanna tell 'em!" Todd said.

"**I'll **tell them," Lance gave him a look.

"Tell us what?" Scott asked.

"They want to tell you some big announcement. I saw Fury leave. What was all that about?" Bobby asked.

"We'll tell you later," Scott said. "So what's the big news?"

"We're rebuilding Misfit Manor right here in Bayville," Lance smirked. "In ironically one of the few buildings that's still standing."

"Why is that so ironic?" Bobby asked.

"Wait a minute, you're not telling us…?" Scott blinked.

"You're kidding?" Emma's jaw dropped.

"What? Am I missing something here?" Bobby asked. "Don't answer that."

"For once Iceman you ain't the only one," Logan growled. "Where are you guys setting up?"

"Over there," Todd pointed. "Just over that hill."

"What's over that hill?" Bobby asked as they walked out of the tent and up to a small hill nearby.

"Doesn't this area look **familiar** to you?" Todd asked.

"Not really. Everything is torn up or wrecked beyond recognition," Logan said. "Even I'm having trouble figuring out where in Bayville we are."

"Well here's a huge clue…" Scott said as they came upon what the Misfits were talking about. "I don't believe it!"

"You have got to be kidding me!" Bobby yelled.

"It figures…" Emma groaned.

"That's right folks," Todd pointed to what was once the Brotherhood of Bayville Boardinghouse. Actually it still was the Brotherhood of Bayville Boardinghouse because it was still standing tall. "Welcome to the once and future home of everybody's favorite Toad!"

"I can't believe that dump is still standing!" Scott shouted.

"Neither can we," Lance smirked. "Which is pretty funny if you think about it. I mean, how many times has the Xavier Institute got blown up or wrecked?"

"I stopped counting at four," Bobby sighed.

"And yet our old stomping grounds still stand," Lance smirked. "Your fancy pants mansion gets wrecked all the time, but our old dump is still standing."

"Barely standing but still standing," Logan groaned.

"The Misfits in Bayville…Oh God…" Emma groaned.

"So instead of teleporting over from halfway across the country to annoy us, you guys just have a short drive to annoy us?" Scott threw up his hands. "The perfect end to a perfect day!"

"My tenure as mayor just got a whole lot more interesting didn't it?" Rocker asked.

"And then some," Hank sighed.

"See we're gonna expand the back and dig out the basement below so we can have a few more rooms," Todd explained. "Then we're gonna put a pool over there. A garage and hangar over there. An outside training area over there…"

"And I am going to go **throw up** over here!" Scott pointed.

**And the Madness begins again...**


	2. Walk That Tightrope

**Walk That Tightrope**

"I knew it," Remy growled, so angry he forgot to address himself in the third person. "I **knew** it! I knew the second we agreed to this whole farce they'd send us out like Hounds to hunt down our friends!"

"Gambit I'm not thrilled about this either," Scott let out a breath. "Like it or not we have a job to do." He looked out at the assembled X-Men in the room. Kitty, Rogue, Kurt, Bobby, Sam, Ororo, Logan and Emma were also there with some of the other X-Men. None of them were happy.

"Well if you ask me this job **stinks!"** Kitty snapped. She glared at Emma. "I suppose this was all **your** idea wasn't it?"

"Emma had nothing to do with this," Scott said.

"Oh go ahead and let her blame me," Emma spoke up. "She blames me for everything else."

"I just find it interesting that you of all people are for this when we all know you practically did the same things that Jamie did during the war!" Kitty snarled.

"There's no proof of what you **think **I did during the war," Emma said. "Unlike Multiple…"

"I don't get why they want Multiple and not Willow," Rogue interrupted. "She was part of X-Force too!"

"Because they don't have photographs of her killing anyone," Logan said. "And even if they did she still wouldn't be a top priority."

"This is an attack on us isn't it? Don't pretend it isn't! Gyrich and his goons may be out of power but there are still a lot of people in the government that hate us!" Kitty frowned.

"I'm afraid so. Wavedancer and the other Misfits are talking to Willow now and explaining things," Scott said. "They're going to take her into custody and make her part of the Misfits after she sees a judge."

"I can't believe she gets off the hook while we gotta lock Jamie up!" Rogue snapped. "That little slut gets away with everything!"

"She lost her entire family, her home and almost all her friends in the war," Kurt gave his sister a look. "I wouldn't exactly call that getting away with everything."

"Besides Willow was never an X-Man, Multiple was," Logan grunted. "It's all politics. Plain and simple."

"They can't go after Jean so they have to go after the next best thing," Scott threw up his hands. "Or in Jamie's case the next to the next best thing."

"Jean was possessed! That's not fair!" Kitty said.

"It is fair. Jean was possessed by a cosmic entity! Multiple wasn't," Emma said.

"Jamie was possessed by pain and rage," Kurt said.

"Not good enough in court," Emma shrugged.

"Isn't Warren in custody too?" Bobby asked.

"Yes but again he was brainwashed by Apocalypse," Scott explained. "SHIELD is just making sure that his mind is his again and are trying to undo the damage that was done to him."

"You mean study his enhancements and figure out how they work," Bobby frowned. Scott and Emma blinked. "I don't know why you two look so surprised when I say stuff like that. You know I have been paying attention all these years!"

"I admit you have hit the proverbial nail on the head," Emma shrugged. "However since Warren Worthington the Third is one of the few heirs left to a billion something dollar financial empire I have a feeling that SHIELD will set him free soon if only to make a deal with his company."

"Doesn't Angel have like a dozen cousins and aunts and stuff also fighting over control of his company?" Kitty blinked.

"He did. But since some of them died of old age, texting while driving or killed each other off there's a lot fewer of them," Bobby shrugged. "The whole family situation is more messed up than any of ours."

"More messed up than having a demon father, a terrorist mother and dozens of half siblings some which want to take over the world?" Kurt asked.

"More messed up than marrying your fiance's clone and having a child with her under mental hypnotic suggestion and having to send that child into the future in order to survive?" Scott asked.

"More messed up than **my family** of psychotics?" Logan asked.

"Well maybe not **that** messed up but pretty close to it..." Bobby admitted.

"How do you know anything about Warren's family?" Kitty asked Bobby.

"Because I read more than just the comics in the papers," Bobby gave her a look. "And the whole Worthington clan has been in and out of scandal for nearly two years now! One of the Worthingtons was part of AIG and another was in Lehmans! You remember when Wall Street failed and all those companies went bankrupt? When the economy tanked?"

Everyone looked at him. "And you guys call **me** clueless," Bobby groaned. "Go see the movie Too Big To Fail! That'll explain everything!"

"Iceman is an economics expert," Logan blinked. "When did this happen?"

"I dunno but that's kind of scary," Kitty blinked.

"Wait…I just thought of something," Rogue said. "You said they were going to take Willow into custody. Are they gonna make her testify against Jamie?"

"She's not," Pietro walked in. "We just took her now. Part of the deal we made with the feds was that if she pled guilty and gave up information on some of X-Force's other dealings she not only goes to the Misfit's custody but she doesn't have to testify against Multiple."

"Wait that doesn't make sense," Ororo said.

"It does when you consider there are a few people who backed the Sentinel project still out there and the government wants them shut down pronto," Pietro said. "Like Gyrich and his buddies. Willow has a lot of information on them. Apparently Bishop and his friends found out a lot of double dealings, including secret Sentinel factories all over the world. She knows where the proof is and can get it."

"The only thing the government hates more than us is the Sentinel program," Remy realized. "Makes sense."

"The Sentinel Project not only wrecked mutant's lives but the lives of humans all over the world," Pietro said. "Not to mention the credibility of the United States government. The United Nations is holding the US accountable for making those things and everything getting out of control. There's already a resolution calling for the banning of those tin cans. Even Doctor Doom is behind that one since they blew up his castle and half of his kingdom."

"I guess that's one good thing about this whole war," Rogue sighed. "From now on even the most rabid anti mutant nutcases are gonna think twice before letting those dang machines loose."

"SHIELD isn't exactly getting off easy either," Pietro added. "A lot of Senators and Congressmen are questioning Fury about SHIELD's role in the Sentinel disaster. Or lack of it. A lot of important government officials from other countries are also calling the super spy agency on the carpet for the mess they made. The only reason Fury won't be out of a job is because he's got too much blackmail and the government needs SHIELD to do some more of their dirty work."

"That's not all of it is there?" Kitty narrowed her eyes.

"No," Pietro admitted. "The real reason they didn't ask for Willow's testimony is that they don't need hers to put Jamie away. In addition to the video tape…They've got witnesses."

"Witnesses?" Kitty asked.

"Apparently one of the guards during the attack chickened out and hid inside a locker," Pietro said. "He saw Multiple kill a few of his buddies. And…There are a couple of mutants that were also there. They got caught by the army before M Day. They ratted out Jamie to save their own hides."

"Goddess…" Ororo let out a breath.

"The trial if you can call it that won't be televised," Pietro said distastefully. "It's going to be quick and quiet. Just some military general in a room to sign the paperwork. The last thing this country needs now is some more anti-mutant hysteria gripping the country. We almost came to the brink of disaster the last time it happened. They're just going to have a quick military trial, lock Multiple up and give the press the basics. Just enough to prove to the masses that not only humans are going to be punished for what happened."

"So you're saying they're gonna shove Jamie into some kind of Guantanamo prison for mutants and there's not a thing we can do about it?" Kitty was furious.

"I don't like this either! The kid's getting a raw deal. I admit it," Pietro said. "But what do you want Pryde? Make a big stink and whip up more anti-mutant hostility? Our species barely survived the last round of the mutant war. Quite frankly I'm not really anxious to see how much more we can take."

"Something tells me Fury isn't gonna let Jamie rot in prison," Logan grunted. "Probably already working some kind of deal to put him under SHIELD supervision. I know how this goes. They'll keep him locked up just long enough to calm him down so when SHIELD has work for him, he'll be more receptive and less likely to protest."

"It feels like we're selling Jamie into slavery in order to save our skins!" Kurt bristled. "There has to be another way!"

"Don't you think we've **tried **that?" Pietro said. "Hell Althea is still making calls to the Jugglers trying to reduce Jamie's sentence and to help him but we know that won't do much good! But the Misfits have been ordered to stay off the case. They want you X-Men to bring him in."

"Nobody's blaming the Misfits for this, Quicksilver," Logan said.

"For once," Pietro grumbled.

"Like it or not this is an X-Man problem and we need to solve it ourselves," Scott said. "Tell Wavedancer we appreciate anything she can do but we understand."

"So we're actually going to do this? No discussion or…" Kitty bristled.

"There's nothing to discuss, Kitty! It's an order and we have no choice but to follow it or else risk this entire peace we've worked so hard to obtain get blown up to kingdom come!" Scott said.

"Fine go ahead and do it," Kitty stormed out. "Just don't expect me to help you sell him down the river."

"Gambit with her," Remy announced. "Gambit ain't no Hound." Rogue shrugged and she followed Remy out of the tent as well.

"Guys…" Scott called out.

"Let them go. We don't need their help," Emma told him. "If they want to sulk like children that's their business."

"Anybody else have a problem with this?" Scott asked. "As if I didn't know the answer."

"Jamie was like a member of my family," Ororo said bitterly. "I remember when he first came to the Institute as a child."

"He's not a child anymore, Storm," Emma said. "I wouldn't worry. It's like Logan said, he's too valuable for SHIELD to let him rot away. I'm not thrilled about bringing him in either but considering the alternative…"

"What do you mean?" Ororo asked.

"What do you think she means? If we don't bring him in, they'll send some other guys to do it," Logan grunted. "Guys who won't care if he's brought in dead or alive."

Ororo shook her head. "Then there really is no choice is there?"

"No, there isn't," Scott said. "Emma and I will bring him in but we could use some help."

"Let me talk to Jamie," Ororo said. "At least…At least I can try to make this easier for him."

"I'll do it. But I don't have to like it," Logan growled.

"Multiple needs all the friends he can get," Kurt agreed. "And like it or not, it is our duty."

"So you agree with this?" Sam asked.

"No, but Scott is right. There is more than this going on," Kurt said. "It feels like that the government is testing us. And if we fail…I don't want any more war. I don't want to give Jamie up but the alternative…Maybe we can think of something to help him after we bring him in?"

"Okay I don't think we'll need any more for this," Scott let out a breath. "It is Multiple after all."

"I wouldn't underestimate him, Cyclops," Sam told him. "Have you taken a good look at Jamie lately? He grew like a weed when we last saw him and he ain't stopped growing."

"How old is he now? Fifteen?" Scott tried to remember.

"I remember he was eleven when he first came to the Institute years ago and that was…" Bobby thought. "It's been over seven years since then. That would make him eighteen now."

"Old enough to be tried like an adult," Sam groaned. "This just gets better and better. Maybe I should come with you guys?"

"No Sam, we need you here to work on the patrols around Bayville and to coordinate things with Rocker's new police department he's putting up," Scott shook his head. "Since we're short a few people we need all the help we can get. Tabby's not coming back to work for a while. For obvious reasons…"

"Sorry…" Sam winced.

"Don't be," Emma said. "Tabitha's baby will most likely be the first mutant born after M-Day. At this time we could use all the mutants we can get. Anyway since Evan declined our invitation…"

"Wait, are you telling me Evan's not back with the X-Men yet?" Kurt interrupted.

"No, we asked him but…" Scott sighed.

"My nephew is determined to carve his own path," Ororo explained. "In addition to looking after his young son he's getting involved in some kind of deal with some other mutants he knew before the war. Apparently he wants to start some kind of entertainment studio putting out mutant friendly programs and sports competitions."

"Seriously?" Bobby asked.

"Actually it's not such a bad idea," Logan spoke up. "I met his partner, that O'Sullivan guy. He was very certain that this would work. I think he's some kind of precog. Besides, people love sports and TV. Anything Spyke puts out can't be worse than half the garbage already on the air."

"You're **for** this?" Bobby asked. "You? Mister 'Let's Take No Prisoners Bub' is willing to let Spyke try the television route?"

"Yeah. Because Quicksilver was right. Mutants were nearly exterminated along with the entire planet less than a few weeks ago and we need to stop that from ever happening again. Even if we gotta try a harebrained idea like that one," Logan snorted.

"It still stinks we have to go after our own kind," Bobby said. "I mean if it was someone like Mystique I wouldn't mind but…Oh sorry Kurt."

"Don't be," Kurt shook his head. "I've given up any hope of my _loving_ mother reforming. It was bad enough what she did with the GRSO but willingly joining with Apocalypse not once but **twice**…No matter how hard I wish or try she is not going to change. But Jamie is another story. We have to try and help him. Even if we do have to bring him in."

"Okay so Wolverine, Emma, Nightcrawler and Storm come with me," Scott ordered. "Everyone else go back to your patrols and assignments."

"This is going to be fun," Kurt grumbled as they left. "Not!"

It didn't take them long to find Jamie. He was directing dozens of his clones while they were literally building a building of some kind. Some were putting up beams. Others were cutting wood or nailing wood. Others were working on the cement floor and blocks. Even more were digging, measuring and using forklifts and cranes to put in huge metal beams. Scott was amazed at how fast and efficient Jamie was.

"He's like a one man construction team," Logan remarked.

"What's he building anyway?" Kurt asked. "I thought we weren't going to put up any houses until the streets were finished?"

"We're not," Emma realized what it was. "It's the new hospital. I recognize the layout from one of the blueprints.

"Oh yeah. I thought it was too big to be a house," Kurt blinked. "I don't suppose we could postpone this until after he builds the building? You know? Say its community service or something?"

"I wish we could," Scott sighed. "It's a shame. An army of dupes could bring this town back in no time."

"It's a bigger shame we have to turn in our own friend," Ororo spoke with a tone of anger in her voice.

"Let's get this over with," Scott sighed. He waved to Jamie. He noticed how much bigger Jamie had gotten. He was as tall as Scott now and more muscular. His brown hair was slightly longer and he no longer looked like that scrawny twelve year old that played pranks in the mansion.

He realized that Jamie had grown up fast during the war. Too fast. Too much too soon. He had gotten harder and stronger. And the X-Men failed to protect him from all that. Just as they were going to fail him again.

It was all Scott could do to not get sick right on the spot.

"Hey there," Jamie walked over with two of his dupes holding blueprints. "Good news, the hospital is just starting to get built."

"Starting? You already got the foundation in and several support beams," Logan was impressed as he saw several dupes put some metal beams in the building.

"It's a good start for the first day," Jamie smiled with pride.

"You did all this in a **day?**" Ororo was impressed.

"Well technically only six hours," Jamie scratched his head. "So what's up?"

Scott and Ororo looked at each other. "Jamie…We have a situation," Ororo broke the silence.

"What kind of situation?" Jamie asked.

"Jamie you know the X-Men will do anything to help you right?" Ororo asked.

"Where's this going?" Jamie asked.

"Stop beating around the bush Storm," Logan sighed. "Let's just say it straight. Kid, you know how some folks in the government are still antsy about X-Force and what you guys did right?"

"So what?" Jamie gave him a look.

"There's a warrant out for your arrest," Scott let out a breath.

"I thought all mutants were given amnesty for what they did during the war?" Jamie asked.

"Most mutants were given amnesty," Scott said. "There were…exceptions written into the contract."

"And let me guess, Willow and I were the exceptions?" Jamie folded his arms. "Am I right?"

"More you than Willow," Scott said. "They let the Misfits take her but…I'm sorry Jamie. We have to take you into custody of SHIELD."

"Oh I see what's going on," Jamie growled. "I'm not stupid. You're throwing me to the wolves to save your own skins!"

"For crying out loud Multiple! They have photographs and video of you killing people!" Logan shouted.

"And how many people did you kill **Wolverine?"** Jamie snarled. "Seriously, **you're **giving me a lecture on morality?"

"This isn't about morality…" Emma said. "Ironically."

"If it wasn't for X-Force there would have been thousands of mutant internment camps out there instead of a handful of mutants locked away by the Mardies!" Jamie shouted. "Every time the government tried to make one, we burned it to the ground! We destroyed hundreds of Sentinel factories and factories that made machine parts for the Sentinels! You know as well as I that if it wasn't for our **terrorist actions**, things would have been ten times worse! Hell we lost nearly all our members on M-Day because of the Sentinels that the humans unleashed!"

Jamie glared at Scott. "My team fought and **died** so that the mutant race wouldn't go extinct. They died so the world wouldn't be destroyed. And now you and SHIELD wants the few of us that are left under lock and key because they're embarrassed that we did what they didn't have the guts to do!"

"What's going on here?" A few mutants had been working nearby and were gathering.

"Our great and noble leaders the X-Men want to arrest me for helping mutants during the war!" Jamie snapped.

"Wait! It's not what you think…" Kurt began. But the small crowd was already beginning to get angry.

"Didn't I tell you the X-Men weren't to be trusted?" A mutant male with red skin shouted. "I knew they'd sell us out sooner or later!"

"They're gonna lock up their own kind so they can run free!" A female mutant shouted.

"It's not like that!" Scott said loudly. "Multiple here was photographed killing several government scientists…"

"All the more power to him!" The red skinned mutant shouted. The crowd agreed.

"He also murdered a fellow mutant," Emma spoke up to the crowd. "A defenseless mutant boy named Ben Yates."

"That sounds like a load of bull!" A gray skinned teen shouted.

"No…" Jamie set his face. "It's true. I killed the kid. And I'd do it again."

"Wait you killed one of our own?" A rock like mutant was stunned. That quieted the crowd.

"Wait that's not what…" An orange skinned female spoke up. Jamie silenced her with a look.

"Just all of you get out of here. This is **my fight**," Jamie growled. "Got it?"

_Go back to what you were doing. This is not your concern_, Emma sent out a subliminal message. The mutant mob dispersed and went off.

Jamie gave her a look. "Nice trick…"

"I didn't see you asking for their help," Emma pointed out.

"I only said that because I didn't want anyone in the crossfire," Jamie multiplied himself to fifty dupes on the spot. "Besides, I can make my own mob to protect me!"

"Jamie don't do this," Scott set his jaw. "Don't force us to take you out!"

"I'd like to see you try," Jamie growled. "I'm not going quietly."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Logan sighed. "For the record Multiple. I don't blame you. Another time I'd stand beside you…Just saying. Don't take this personal."

"Sounds personal to me!" Jamie shouted with his dupes as one.

"Here we go..." Scott groaned. "I should have known this wasn't going to be easy!"

"Emma…Which one's the real Jamie?" Kurt whispered to Emma.

"I…Can't tell…Too many minds thinking the same thing…" Emma concentrated.

"Yeah! To kick your asses!" Jamie shouted. More dupes appeared and attacked the X-Men as one.

"Multiple…No!" Kurt tried to teleport around the dupes but to his surprise he was easily grabbed from behind by a dupe. Then several more dupes piled onto him. He teleported away only to get clobbered in the back by a dupe that had a bat.

Suddenly almost all the dupes had a bat. "Okay that's weird…" Scott prepared his optic blasts to destroy some of the bats.

"I can dupe any object I'm holding now," Jamie explained. "As long as I'm holding onto it."

"This is not going well…" Emma changed to diamond form as she fought off dupes with Ororo at her back.

"No it is not," Scott said. Every dupe he blasted with his optic blasts two more seemed to appear.

"Don't worry. I've got this!" Logan shouted. He shot out his claws with a SNIKT and charged through the dupes, cutting them down like they were nothing. To which they returned to. Until he got to the center of the mob.

"You forgot my nose kid," Logan knocked Jamie down and crouched over him, claws out, not that close to his throat. "I can pick you out of a crowd even if you all do smell alike."

"Actually…I was counting on it," Jamie smirked. Before Logan could react two of the dupes sprayed him from both sides with a small spray bottle.

"AGGGGHHH!" Logan coughed.

The real Jamie slid out and sprayed Logan with his own bottle. "Scent erasing spray. Never leave home without it." He then grabbed Logan and flipped him with some kind of martial arts move.

"Okay where the hell did you learn a move like that?" Logan growled as he got back up and faced Jamie and his dupes.

"I lived with X-Force for over a year, Wolverine," Jamie smirked. "Between Bishop, Domino, Warpath and endless Kung Fu movie marathons I learned a lot of different fighting techniques. But **this** particular one Layla taught me!"

Before Logan could react Jamie and several dupes quickly poked Logan in several places. He immediately stiffened up. "Can't…Move…" Logan gasped as his arms hung at his sides.

"Even **your** healing factor isn't gonna recover that fast from a pressure point technique," Jamie smirked as he folded his arms. "It confuses your nervous system and keeps you out of the action long enough for me to end this fight and get away."

"Layla taught you **this?**" Logan was stunned as he tried to move but couldn't.

"What can I say?" Jamie shrugged. "She knew stuff."

Then Jamie and three of his dupes kicked Logan hard in several places at the same time, knocking him out. "Wolverine!" Ororo shouted. Her eyes glowed and her body crackled with energy as she took to the skies, intending to take Jamie out with lightning.

Unfortunately for her she was shot from behind with a laser blast. "AGGHH!"

"What?" Scott turned around. A Dupe of Jamie's with a laser rifle had managed to shoot her in the back. He unleashed his optic blast and destroyed it but it was too late. Jamie then tackled him with three dupes. Then the three dupes turned back into Jamie.

"Jamie stop this before it's too late!" Scott yelled as he started to fight with Jamie.

"Cyclops, I just took down your heavy hitters including Wolverine without a sweat," Jamie said as he fought Scott. "That was your problem. You and the others always underestimated me!"

Jamie managed to get in a few punches. "You never thought I was good enough! Or strong enough! Or **smart enough** to be one of you!" He snarled. "You and the others always ignored me or sent me to the sidelines! Never letting me prove myself!"

"You were too young Jamie!" Scott got a few punches in. "We were trying to protect you!"

"Well you did a **lousy** job of it!" Jamie snarled as he hit back. "And I wasn't **that** much younger than the rest of you! Only by a couple of years! But you all thought you were better than me because you were bigger! Especially those so called New Mutants! Half the time they wouldn't let me in on things! Seriously, how can you guys complain about me controlling my powers and my powers getting in the way when you idiots could barely control your own?"

Jamie did a duck and a kick, knocking Scott back. "I learned very early that I had to take whatever training I could get and teach myself whatever I could! That's the beauty of having clones of yourself. You can learn several things at once. While I was doing Danger Room workouts, I had a couple of Dupes doing some real training!"

"What do you mean?" Scott asked. He dodged another kick.

"Didn't you ever wonder how I got so good at fighting you guys even though I did a lot less training than you?" Jamie asked as he went on the attack. "I used to send a few Dupes into different towns. Take up classes under an assumed name. I learned so much when my Dupes had their little walkabouts…Things you can't even begin to understand!"

"Well I can't understand how you could turn so quickly into a terrorist!" Scott snapped as he punched Jamie.

"Said the pot to the kettle!" Jamie snarled.

"I'm not saying the X-Men didn't make mistakes or cause our share of damage, but we never went out to deliberately kill people!" Scott shouted. "The X-Men are about **preserving** the peace between humans and mutants! Not killing them off!"

"You keep saying that but you didn't exactly work that hard to try and stop us," Jamie told him. "In fact up until the near end of the war you and Wolverine gave us a lot of those missions! Remember?"

"Yes and I also remember how you tried to use Toad and his other self for your own purposes," Scott fought back.

"That was Bishop's plan. Which he never told us all of it," Jamie countered. "That was wrong. I admit it. But our team did a lot of good Scott. We saved a lot of mutant's lives and destroyed Sentinel bases and those mutant concentration camps before they got put into business! You can't deny that."

"I'm not. But you did kill a lot of people," Scott said.

"We just did what you didn't have the guts to do," Jamie glared at him. He then prepared to punch Scott in the face to knock him out.

He stiffened up. "Get out of my head Frost…"

_ It took me a while but I finally_….Emma began. She had changed back to her human form. Suddenly she was grabbed and overpowered by several more dupes.

"You know I never really liked you…" One of Jamie's Dupes snarled as he grabbed her by the throat, choking her. "How about we give SHIELD a different mutant scapegoat?"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Coming through!" Rogue yelled as she flew through several dupes and started beating them up with her super strength.

"Damn it Multiple! You not helping your case!" Remy faced off with the army of Jamie dupes. "Don't do this man! Frost is one of us now!"

"Yeah she may be a bitch but she's **our **bitch!" Rogue snarled as she fought her way towards Emma. "X-Men don't turn on their own!"

"I used to be one of you! And you had no problems abandoning **me!"** Jamie snarled making his dupes fight harder and creating more of them.

"It was a mistake Jamie. And not just Xavier's. It's my fault too. I'm sorry," Scott said as the dupes held him prisoner. "But you can't punish Emma for what I did! Let her go and we'll talk! This isn't you! Jamie you'd never do this! You weren't trained to do this!"

"I was raised by maniacs who used to use lasers and flamethrowers in training exercises and fighting major battles since I was twelve," Jamie snapped. "How did you **expect** me to turn out?"

He felt a tap on his shoulder. Before he completely turned around he got punched hard in the face. "I **expected** you to know what happens when you cross the line," Kitty growled.

"Get her!" Jamie snarled at his dupes but as they attacked Kitty simply phased through them. Then she disintegrated them with simple punches and kicks. "What?"

"You're not the **only one** who had a few unexpected crash courses in fighting," Kitty glared at the original Jamie. Her eyes were red and glowing showing that she was using the essence of Ogun in her soul. She kicked Jamie hard and jabbed at him with her fingers in his chest. "Or knows a few things about pressure points!"

"AKKK!" Jamie gasped as his arms fell to his sides. Then Kitty kicked him hard and he was knocked out.

As he was knocked unconscious, all the dupes disappeared immediately. "And that takes care of that," Remy brushed his hands.

"Please! Me and Shadowcat did most of the work," Rogue grunted.

"Ugh. Anybody get the number of that freight train that hit me?" Kurt opened his eyes.

"Come on little brother," Rogue helped him up.

"Rogue? What are you doing here?" Kurt asked.

"Nobody beats up any of my brothers except **me,"** Rogue gave him a look.

"Wakey Wakey Wolverine," Remy took out some smelling salts from his pocket. "This an old Thieves' Guild hangover slash wakeup scent."

"AKGGGHHKK!" Logan choked and woke up. He pinched his nose. "Damn that smells worse than Toad in a garbage dump!"

"It does the trick, no?" Remy smirked.

"I told you they couldn't do this without us," Kitty let out a breath.

"Good work Shadowcat," Emma rubbed her throat and got up.

"I didn't do it for **you,**" Kitty glared at her. "I just couldn't let Jamie make another stupid mistake."

"At least you three put aside your personal opinions and did the right thing," Emma said.

"There's nothing right about **this** and you know it," Rogue told her.

"Well at least we didn't trash the new hospital," Scott sighed as he looked around. "Multiple made sure we were fighting away from it."

"Didn't want all his hard work to go to waste," Emma let a breath go. The sound of a small transport aircraft caught her attention. "Well that was fast."

Two SHIELD agents came out of a SHIELD transport jet. It was small, black and looked like a cross between a cargo plane and a jet. "That didn't take long," The first SHIELD agent remarked as he carried an inhibitor collar and some cuffs.

"I almost didn't think you'd get the freak," A second SHIELD agent grunted. "Good thing I didn't bet against you. Tyler you owe me five bucks."

That really made Scott mad. But he knew how to keep it in. "I was unaware that Fury had lifted the restrictions on gambling within SHIELD and its members. Or is it **still** against the rules to bet on missions?"

"Uh…Uh…?" The SHIELD Agents looked nervous.

"Perhaps this is something I need to bring up with your superiors?" Scott took a step closer to them, glaring at them all the way.

"Uh no, no that won't be necessary," Tyler gulped.

"It might be," Scott glared at him.

"You know we should just…go," The second SHIELD agent gulped as they took custody of Jamie. "Uh…Good work, X-Men." They couldn't get into the transport fast enough.

"Good ol' SHIELD. Protectors of the Earth," Remy said sarcastically as the transport took off.

"More like Protectors of Their Own Behinds," Rogue spat.

"They just **watched**…" Kitty gritted her teeth. "Just stood back and watched us take Jamie down…bet on it like it was some kind of damned sport!"

"Is this how it's gonna be Cyclops?" Remy snarled. "Some peace we won!"

"You think I **wanted** this?" Scott yelled at them.

"Nobody's blaming you Scott. It's just…We lost Magma. We lost Madelyn. We lost Forge, Static and so many others. And now we just shunned away Multiple for doing what we trained him to do. What did we fight for if we can't even save our friends?" Kurt asked.

Scott didn't have an answer.


	3. Mystique Dearest

**Mystique Dearest **

"That was one of the most unpleasant experiences I have ever had," Emma sighed. "And I don't just mean the part where I was nearly strangled to death..."

"Well what do you know? The White Queen does have a heart after all?" Kitty said, not too flippantly.

"Even though I wasn't happy to bear the brunt of Mr. Maddox's temper part of me can certainly understand his motivation," Emma admitted. "If our places had been switched I suppose I would feel the same way. Of course my priorites would be to escape instead of killing people but you get the idea."

Rogue sighed. "I never want to go through anything like that again."

"Neither do I, Rogue but we have jobs to do," Scott said. The X-Men and Misfits were meeting up back at their headquarters in San Francisco. It had only been an hour after Multiple's capture and the two teams were conferring about what had happened.

"That bad?" Fred asked.

"So say Multiple didn't go quietly was an understatement," Logan rubbed his shoulder. "When did the squirt get so good?"

"He ain't no squirt no more, that's for sure," Rogue grunted.

"Yeah and Fury won't treat him like one," Lance frowned. "We were just lucky they didn't ask for Willow or anyone else."

"Speaking of Willow how are you guys holding up with adding her on the team?" Bobby asked.

"We don't have a problem with her," Fred said. "I mean most of us Misfits aint' exactly had the best records ourselves so it's not like we think we're better."

"Losing her family the way she did really tore her up inside," Lance said. "She was close to her father. It's no wonder she reacted the way she did."

"Well what about what she did to Toad?" Bobby pointed a thumb at Todd.

"Hold on, neither she nor Multiple or half the team in X-Force knew what Bishop and Mystique were planning," Todd spoke up. "Besides if I held a grudge over every guy who kidnapped me or tried to kill me I'd never have any friends."

"Well Multiple could use some friends right now," Kurt sighed. "Oh wait we sort of betrayed him."

"We didn't betray him. He went crazy and tried to kill us," Kitty said. "If he just got over his ego and let us work with him things would be different now!"

"Pryde is right. If he trusted us and came quietly I believe his situation would be very different right now," Emma agreed. "But it's not. What happened happened. And there's nothing we can do for him until he decides to get over it and forgive us."

"Could have used him too for building the town," Bobby sighed. "Maybe we can talk Fury into a work release program or something?"

"It's worth a shot but I wouldn't hold my breath," Logan said. "And to think he was supposed to be the easiest one on the list."

"List?" Kurt raised an eyebrow. "What list?"

"They also want us to take down a few mutants on the wanted list," Scott said. "Juggernaut and Black Tom for example. Even though they turned on Apocalypse at the last minute the government is nervous about where they are and what they are planning next."

"I'm concerned about that kid they have with them," Wanda remarked. "Juggernaut may care about that boy but he's already had his DNA warped by Apocalypse merely for associating with him. Who knows what else Juggernaut is going to put him through?"

"What kid?" Logan asked.

"Remember that little orange kid that we saw with Juggernaut a while back?" Wanda told him. "The one with the gills? Well he got bigger."

"Oh yeah that one," Logan nodded.

"They also want Sabertooth, Victoria, Daken…" Scott began.

"Those three are **not** going to be a problem for me," Logan remarked. "Family or not."

"Speaking of family guess who else is on the list?" Kitty brought the wanted list on the screen of a large computer.

"Yeah the government isn't exactly crazy about our connection with the top three," Scott pointed to pictures of Vulcan, Daken and Mystique.

"Vulcan and Daken are **crazy**," Alex grumbled. "Family or not they need to be taken down!"

"I am personally going to have a talk with my boy and **explain** to him how I feel about what he did to Amara," Logan growled as he shot his claws out.

"You're not going to..." Kurt gave Logan a look.

"No I'm not going to kill Daken. But it's amazing what you can live through," Logan snarled.

"Vulcan is at the top of the list," Scott growled. "Him, Daken and Mystique. I hate to say this Kurt but…"

"Actually I have no problem bringing Mystique in," Kurt growled. "Any delusions I ever had of that woman being a part of our family were shattered as soon as the war stared. What she did with the GRSO…And Apocalypse…And God only knows what **else **she did during the war, I just can't forgive her. And I've tried. Believe me I've tried but I just can't forgive her."

"Let's not forget a certain strip club incident," Pietro added.

"Thank you Quicksilver for throwing salt on an open wound!" Kurt snapped. "I will definitely **never** forget the strip club incident!"

"Strip club incident?" Xavier blinked.

"Yeah that happened while you were in a coma," Hank ran his fingers through his hair sheepishly. "I'll…tell you about that later."

"Must be some story," Xavier remarked.

"It is," Pietro smirked.

"I'm sorry Kurt," Rogue let out a breath and put her hand on her brother's shoulder.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you," Kurt said. "I can't believe I was so blind. You were right all along. Our birth mother is nothing but a lying snake and can never be trusted. Not after all that she's done."

"Part of me wanted you to be right but…" Rogue shook her head. "I just never wanted you to get hurt."

"The way she hurt you?" Kurt asked. "I just feel like a fool for not seeing the facts before my eyes."

"Well she can't fool us anymore," Rogue said. "We're gonna find her and lock her up before she does any more damage."

"That's easier said than done," Logan groaned. "With her advanced shape shifting abilities she can even fool Cerebro now. She could be anyone, anywhere."

"That's gonna make our job so much harder," Rogue groaned. "Wonderful!"

"There's one good thing about all this," Kurt shrugged. "Now that I've finally wised up to my mother's tricks, there is no way Mystique can ever hurt our family and screw up our lives anymore."

Meanwhile somewhere far away in a bathroom in a safe house…

"Oh crap…" Mystique groaned as she looked at the pink line, indicating a positive remark. "Why does this always happen to me?"

**Three guesses who the daddy is? He he…Oh so much fun in the future! **


	4. A Bedside Conversation

**A Bedside Conversation**

Not even an hour after what happened with Jamie went down, Scott borrowed one of the Misfit's teleportation watches to go to a large hospital on the outskirts of Washington DC. Here was where most of the survivors of the Sentinel Attack on Washington DC were being treated. The bad news was there was only a handful of them. But there was one in particular he wanted to check up on.

_ I really should have done this sooner_, Scott told himself as he checked in and went to the room. _Just one more thing that I feel guilty about_. _One of thousands of things. I wonder if this is how Xavier feels sometimes? _

It wasn't long before he had arrived to Ray's room. He could hear the faint beeping of electronic devices keeping his friend and former teammate alive and stable. He braced himself before walking in.

"Ray?" Scott asked. Even though he had heard what had happened he was still stunned. Ray lay there in the bed, his head and left eye covered in bandages. His right arm was visible but bandaged up. Where his left arm should have been there was only a sleeve covering up what wasn't there. Even with the blankets over him Scott could tell that Ray had lost one of his legs. There was a fresh scar across his face and he looked so pale.

"Scott…" Ray moaned and opened his good eye.

"Hey man," Scott sat next to him. "I'd ask how it's going but…"

"I feel like hell. But I'm still alive…Which is more than I can say for some of my friends," Ray grumbled as he lay there. "I heard about Amara…"

"How did you…?" Scott was stunned.

"Newsflash Summers, my ears are **still attached** to my body," Ray snorted. "I got my sources that keep me up with the latest gossip. And what that bastard Daken did."

"We lost a lot of good people in that battle," Scott let out a breath. "Too many."

"I'll miss her," Ray said softly. "She was a good kid."

"She was," Scott admitted. "She and a lot of others. Tabitha's taking it the hardest."

"I can imagine. Those two were so close," Ray sighed.

"How are you coping? I heard that you might be getting some bionics," Scott decided to change the subject.

"Trinity came in a bit earlier taking measurements," Ray croaked. "Said they're gonna make me some bionic limbs and a new eye. Said I'll be stronger and stuff. The new Bionic Mutant."

"Hopefully it won't cost six million dollars to build you," Scott smirked.

"Ha ha…What do you know? Cyclops told a joke…" Ray moaned. "Not that I don't appreciate the company but why are you here?"

"I mean to come earlier but you know how it is," Scott said. "We're rebuilding Bayville."

"I heard. That place must be totally trashed."

"Yeah. Everything except the old Brotherhood mansion. Which is now being remodeled into the new Misfit Mansion," Scott told him.

"You have got to be **joking**?" Ray gave him a look.

"I wish I wasn't," Scott groaned as he sat down in a chair next to Ray's bed.

"It figures. The Institute gets blown up every other week but not the old Brotherhood House," Ray moaned. "It's like a sick joke the universe likes to play on us."

"Yeah well I'm not laughing," Scott said. "I suppose you've heard most of the mutants have been pardoned in the MLF and splinter groups. Including you."

"Most?" Ray croaked.

"Well there's a few obvious exceptions," Scott said. "Daken for one. Sabertooth and his daughter. My insane brother Vulcan. Mystique…Multiple."

"Jamie's on the lam? Why?" Ray asked.

"He's not on the run. We brought him into SHIELD custody but not without him taking down Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler and Emma. I was almost clobbered if it wasn't for Kitty, Gambit and Rogue," Scott said. "I figured you might as well hear it from me what happened."

"So what did happen?"

"They had video of him killing a whole bunch of scientists in some lab," Scott sighed. "Plus a mercy killing of some poor kid that was half dead already."

"Unbelievable…" Ray weakly shook his head.

"It was political of course," Scott said. "The government's way of getting back at us. And we had no choice but to…"

"Of course you had no choice Scott," Ray interrupted. He motioned Scott to come closer. When Scott did he whispered. "That was the one most important rule we had. No cameras, no witnesses. **Always** make it look like an accident. Never be obvious. **Never!"**

Ray lay back on the pillow. "Always look for cameras and recording devices. Disable them or fix 'em…It's God damn common sense. I know you don't approve but….Damn it how could Jamie be so **stupid?**"

"Well it happened what's done is done," Scott said. "Which leads me to the purpose of my visit. Ray…After you heal. Or when you feel up to it. If you feel up to it. I want you to come back to the X-Men."

"What?" Ray said. "I'm sorry I'm not sure I heard that right. You want me back after…Well after **everything?"**

"I don't care about what you did in the war," Scott told him. "Hell it can't be any worse than some of the things I've done. At least you were smart enough not to end up on the news. Which is more than I can say for my team."

"Didn't do me much good in the end," Ray grumbled.

"Come on Ray," Scott said. "We both know that the MLF was responsible for taking down the FOH and Purity. As much as I disagreed with your methods I can't deny that without Rocker and you guys doing what you did…Those organizations would be a lot more powerful and we might all be dead by now."

"It's not like I liked killing people," Ray told him. "It was just…It was what we did. What we had to do. It's not like we went wild. Rocker made sure we only went after those who were going after us. He had very strict rules about anyone harming innocent bystanders. Or being obvious."

"That so?"

"Oh yeah. During my time with the MLF only one joker made the mistake of not following the rules," Ray said. "Broke 'em twice. He didn't live long enough to do it a third time."

"I never heard of…" Scott began.

"Rocker took care of it and hushed it up. But we all knew. Guy had it coming," Ray shrugged. "Don't ask me much more about it. Talk to Rocker if you want to know the score. It's just…It was within the group and we took care of it. Well Rocker took care of it. But it wasn't just the fact that we knew we'd get in trouble if we broke the rules. It was for the greater good that we followed 'em. You know?"

"It was war…You did what you had to do," Scott admitted. "You don't have to do it anymore. Rocker disbanded the MLF."

"And is forming a new group made up of mostly the same people as we speak," Ray shook his head. "But maybe you're right. Maybe I do need a change? Hell at least with the X-Men I was able to leave with my limbs still attached."

"I want to change things," Scott said. "But I need your help."

"Change things?" Ray asked. "How?"

"Well for starters…" Scott let out a breath. "I don't want the next generation of kids to go out fighting like we did. The training may have saved our lives, but let's face it. We're still pretty messed up."

"Tell me about it," Ray grumbled casting a look at where his left leg should have been.

"Training is one thing but…" Scott let out a breath. "I don't want anybody in the field at least until they're seventeen. And even then not doing any major fighting until they're eighteen or older. No more sending kids on missions."

"Nice sentiment but we all know it doesn't always work out like that," Ray said.

"Well I'm going to try and change it at least," Scott said.

"It is a good policy," Ray admitted. "Maybe if we had one like that when we were kids…? Ah it doesn't matter…What's done is done. And maybe what happened to Jamie won't happen to any other kid?"

"Yeah that too…" Scott said.

"You did what you had to do," Ray said. "It bites but…Sometimes you have to make sacrifices. Especially now. I'm not stupid Scott. Truce or not there are humans that will look for any reason to tear us down. Can't give 'em a reason."

"You sound like you're keeping in pretty good spirits," Scott said.

"Let's just say my stages of personal grief for my lost limbs are pretty much nothing compared to the loss of my friends," Ray sniffed. "Skullfire and I became close buds. Best friends. And he's…"

"I know. I know…" Scott sighed as he put his hand on Ray's shoulder. "We need you back Ray. I need you back. This team has been torn apart enough."

"When you put it that way, how can I refuse?" Ray grinned. "Beats the hell out of this. I feel like I've been torn to pieces. Because I **have** been torn to pieces!"

He looked at his lost arm. "This I can handle because maybe I deserve some of this? Maybe this is karma for all the things I did? It's some kind of punishment and I accept it. But all those kids that didn't do anything and didn't make it? That just ain't right."

"This isn't punishment Ray. This was just a combination of intolerance and bad luck," Scott said.

"It's just easier to handle knowing what I know," Ray shrugged. "That and Trinity keeps popping in every other day taking measurements saying I'm gonna be better and stronger. So I play guinea pig? Why not?"

"Well if you can survive Trinity you can survive anything," Scott smiled.

A nurse poked her head in. "Visiting hours are almost over."

"Thanks. I gotta go," Scott got up from his chair. "But I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise."

"Don't worry about me. I ain't exactly lonely," Ray snorted. "Callisto was in here this morning. Guess she felt bad. Didn't want to lose track of any more Morlocks. Can't say I blame her."

"Callisto? How did she get here?" Scott asked.

"Trinity brought her in. Guess she owes them a favor or something," Ray waved. "But it's good to see you Scott."

"Good to see you too," Scott nodded and began to leave.

"Scott…" Ray called out. Scott turned. "Thanks. For the second chance."

"I should be thanking you for giving the X-Men a second chance," Scott said.

"You know…I do know one or two other members of the MLF that could use a second chance," Ray said cautiously. "If you're willing to give them a shot. They're not into killing that much themselves. Just saying…"

"I'll keep that in mind," Scott said. "We're pretty shorthanded. No pun intended."

"No offense taken," Ray let out a breath.

"See you soon," Scott said.

"I'm not going anywhere," Ray smirked.

Scott nodded and left. _At least one of us is willing to come back_, he thought to himself.

**Just a little drabble on how Ray rejoined the X-Men. Next, more fun and madness! **


	5. Prelude To A Destiny of Fire

**Prelude To A Destiny Of Fire**

Before Amara opened her eyes she knew something was a little off. The sounds of battle had disappeared completely. The smells of metal, fire and blood were gone. They had been replaced with the chirping of birds and the sweet smell of flowers. It was not hot but pleasantly warm.

"Something is a little…off here," Amara looked around. She was in the middle of a huge field filled with red and yellow flowers. "Okay this is weird." She stood up. "Wasn't I in a battle two seconds ago?"

"Hello Princess," A tall stately man with a beard wearing Roman warrior garb appeared to her. "I have come for you. It is time."

"I know you," Amara said. "I recognize you from the pictures in the royal palace. You're…Aquinas Romulus, one of the Secret Founders of Rome."

"I am," He nodded. "I am also the founder of Nova Roma and its first king."

"It is said that your spirit guides all the kings and queens of Nova Roma when they…" The full implications hit Amara. "I'm dead aren't I?"

"Come, there is much to talk about," Aquinas took her hand. They walked through a blaze of light and ended up in a huge golden Roman city.

"Is this heaven? But after all the things I've done…" Amara gasped at the sight around her.

"This place is more of a gateway," Aquinas explained as he led her to a large golden temple with marble columns. "And the path you took, however treacherous was necessary."

"Necessary! How can you **say** that?" Amara stopped and wrenched her hand free. "I betrayed my friends! The people I cared about! And I was betrayed in turn! And worst of all Nova Roma is no more! It was destroyed along with my family and my people!"

"Nova Roma can never truly be destroyed if that is your desire," Aquinas smiled patiently. "What was destroyed can be rebuilt. And those that died can be reborn."

"What do you mean?" Amara was puzzled.

"Oh young princess, have you truly forgotten your heritage so soon?" Aquinas shook his head. "Have you forgotten that all Nova Romans are destined to wander the Golden Path? Not just once but again and again throughout all eternity?"

"The Golden Path? I always thought that was just a story," Amara said.

"It is. A true one," Aquinas smiled. He pointed to the golden brick road below them.

"Then that means…?" Amara looked around. "Wait this is all looking familiar to me now."

"Yes Princess, you have been here many, many times before," Aquinas explained. "The last time we met I did warn you that your death would be a needless one."

"You did? But I agreed to do it anyway?" Amara was surprised.

"Yes, it had been foretold that one day Nova Roma would fall at the hands of a great evil, a scourge upon the world," Aquinas took her to a large door within the temple. "And you were chosen to be Nova Roma's avenger. You would rid the world of this evil but at a great price. Betrayal and loss."

"Factor One," Amara realized. "I was destined to destroy Factor One and his entire operation. He's the one truly responsible for the destruction of Nova Roma."

"Yes and you were also destined to protect your friends and the mutants at the Battle of Bayville," Aquinas told her. "Again at the cost of your life. Sadly this last path you walked was a destiny of destruction. These things happen when you carry the Fire of Nova Roma within your soul. But fire can create as well as destroy. When tempered properly. I believe now you are ready."

"Ready? For…Wait you want me to rebuild Nova Roma?" Amara gasped. "How can I do that? In case you haven't noticed, I'm **dead**!"

"You've been dead before," Aquinas smirked. "I know this is all a shock to you but really Amara. You couldn't have forgotten **all** your teachings in such a short time. You will build Nova Roma from its ashes just as you have done before. Just as **we** have done it before."

Amara gasped as a small flame appeared in Aquinas' hand. "You! You can create fire!"

"And I have the power over volcanoes," Aquinas nodded. "Just like you."

"Wait…You're **me!** I mean! I'm you!" Amara realized. "You were a past life!"

"Exactly," Aquinas nodded as he diminished the fire. "This power is with us in all our lifetimes. Used to protect, defend and in your case avenge Nova Roma. But it will be used again to rebuild it. One day Nova Roma will rise from the ashes greater than before. And when that day comes our people will remember their past lives and return."

"And that's the job of my next life isn't it?" Amara realized.

"If you choose it to be," Aquinas nodded.

"Well of course I **choose** it to be!" Amara snapped. "What kind of question is that?"

"Be warned Princess," Aquinas spoke. "This path is even more dangerous than your last one. If you are not careful and lose your way, you could not only destroy any chance of Nova Roma returning…but the Golden Road itself."

"And would **that **happen?" Amara gasped.

"I am not sure, but I know Selene and the one who killed you before will play a part in it," Aquinas frowned. "Remember to not be corrupted by your desire for revenge as you were in your last life."

"Figures I get the hard choices," Amara sighed. "Will I see my friends again?"

"Yes, if you choose this path you are destined to be united with them," Aquinas nodded. "You will return to the friend who values you the most. And meet the one who will help you the most."

"Meet? So it's someone I haven't met before," Amara thought. "But if I get to see my friends again…Tabitha. I never wanted to hurt her like I did. If I have any chance at all in making things right between us…Okay. I'll do it."

"You do know the danger you will face?"

"Well if I don't do it, Nova Roma won't get rebuilt; I'll never see my friends and something bad will happen anyway!" Amara snapped. "It's not exactly a hard choice to make is it?"

"That's the exact same thought I had," A young tanned male with long black hair in Nova Roman warrior garb walked up to her. He carried a golden sword. "I told you she would do it Aquinas."

Amara remembered. "You're Antarus. You were the prince of Nova Roma. My father's older brother. You died before I was born, fighting…"

"Selene, yes. And back then my powers were not half as developed as yours were," Antarus nodded. "But it didn't stop me. After I died I chose to walk your path. Just as you are choosing now to walk a new one."

"Yes. I'm starting to remember things now," Amara nodded. "Wait if you're here then that means…" She stared at the golden sword. "Oh great…"

"Part of you has to remain here," Aquinas explained. "So when the time comes you can guide your new life."

"I **hate** this part of the ritual," Amara gritted her teeth.

"It's easier than cutting yourself in half," Aquinas gave her a look.

"Technically that is what is going to happen," Antarus remarked.

"Okay before we do this I still have questions," Amara said. "My brain isn't catching up as fast as I'd like it to be. First of all, will I remember any of this?"

"No," Antarus shook his head. "You must be born afresh in a new life before you remember your old one. Trust me, it's better that way. I mean if I had known I was going to be born a girl…"

"And yet I'm the one with more control over my powers than **you,"** Amara gave her former self a look. "I remember Father saying you had a problem with strong women."

"The Golden Road certainly punished me for every chauvinistic word I ever said," Antarus groaned. "And then some. Some of our other female past lives were not too pleased when I arrived."

"When you turn 16 in your new life you will be able to contact your old life," Aquinas explained. "Hence the reason for the ritual."

"Yeah that leads me to another question," Amara frowned. "If we can guide ourselves with our past lives why didn't any of you show up for me?"

"Uh that was kind of **my idea**," Antarus coughed. "Sorry. But I had a good reason."

"It was necessary then to protect you from the influence of Selene," Aquinas spoke. "She had access to your mind. She only thinks that the Golden Road is a myth. If she ever discovers the existence of the Golden Road…"

"She'll try to stop the cycle of reincarnation to get back at us and all of Nova Roma," Amara finished with a groaned. "Or some crazy scheme for more power. Let me guess, that's the danger right?"

"That and your confrontation with the one who murdered you," Aquinas spoke.

"Daken…" Amara growled.

"Don't give into hate and revenge," Aquinas warned.

"Yeah remember what happened the last time you did that?" Antarus told her. "Didn't work out so well did it?"

"What about my parents? Can I see them after this or…?" Amara asked.

"They along with the majority of Nova Romans have already been reincarnated," Aquinas explained. "It's mostly our past lives that populate the Golden Road."

"The good news is, we've had a lot of past lives," Antarus smirked. "So you won't exactly get bored or lonely here."

"And after Antarus many of them will be thrilled to see you," Aquinas smiled.

"Okay. Hold on…Before I do this…" Amara said. "I'm going to need some help. I can send a message right?"

"Yes you can. To someone you were close to in life but only in a dream and only once," Aquinas nodded.

"Wait, you never told **me** that!" Antarus was surprised.

"You never asked," Aquinas gave him a look.

"You said so yourself my new life is going to need guidance," Amara said. "Well I know the perfect person to do that. The one person I trust more than anyone else. Tabitha…"

"I thought so…" Aquinas took her hand. "Come…"

They entered a huge golden temple. They moved to a huge gold and marble basin filled with water. "It has been a few weeks after the battle," Aquinas spoke as he touched the water, causing small ripples. "Time moves differently here. Look into this basin and see what your friend sees."

Amara looked in. She was stunned as she saw herself get stabbed by Daken in the back over and over again. But it was from someone else's perspective. "What…?"

"Your friend is dreaming. This is what she sees," Aquinas spoke softly.

"She blames herself…" Amara was stunned.

"Go to her," Aquinas put his hand on Amara's back. His hand glowed. "Tell her what she needs to know."

Amara's eyes glowed as the knowledge passed into her body. "I'm ready…"

Tabitha however was not aware. She was still trapped in her dream. "You bastard! NO! AMARA NO!" Tabitha tried to use her powers to destroy Daken. But they wouldn't work.

"You're next! HA HA HA HA !" Daken laughed as blood dripped from his claws.

"NO! AMARA! NO!" Tabitha screamed. She did not see Amara walk up to her from behind.

"Tabitha! Snap out of it! It's over! I'm okay!" Amara grabbed her friend's shoulders. She concentrated and the scene changed.

"What…Where…?" Tabitha looked around. They were in the temple again. But this time they were alone. "Where the hell am I?"

"On the Golden Road. It's kind of a long story," Amara said.

"Amara? Is that **you?**" Tabitha blinked.

"Hey girlfriend," Amara grinned. "Surprise."

"AMARA!" Tabitha hugged her friend. "Oh Amara I thought I lost you forever! Wait…" She pulled away. "You're…dead…"

"Yeah but I got better," Amara smiled. She indicated the temple. "This place is kind of a way station for Nova Romans. We stop here before being reincarnated into our next life so…"

"Amara. I'm so sorry…It's all my fault," Tabitha sniffed. "If I'd only paid more attention and not trusted that creep Daken…"

"It's **not **your fault Tabitha," Amara said. "Apparently I was supposed to die a senseless death in exchange for taking out Factor One. It's Daken I blame, not you. Okay? So never blame yourself again for what happened!"

"What do you mean in exchange?" Tabitha asked.

"I had a mission…If I couldn't save Nova Roma, I was to avenge its destruction," Amara explained. "It sucks but at the very least I rid the world of that maniac. He'll never hurt anyone again. I just wish I didn't have to hurt you in the process. I'm sorry. For everything."

"Oh. Amara…I miss you…" Tabitha said as she hugged her friend.

"I miss you too. Tabitha listen, I don't have much time," Amara said. "I'm coming back."

"Back?" Tabitha blinked.

"Yeah. Well most of me is coming back. A part of me has to stay in the afterlife. It's complicated. But I won't remember you or anything that happened before," Amara said. "So I'm going to need you to remember for me."

"Wait…Are you saying you're going to be reincarnated?" Tabitha asked.

"Exactly. Only this time my mission will be to rebuild Nova Roma," Amara said. "And before you ask I have **no idea** how that is going to happen. But apparently I'll figure it out in my new life."

"Whoa…" Tabitha blinked.

"Yeah and it gets worse. Apparently Selene is going to try and stop me and if she figures out that I can be reincarnated…Let's just say things are going to get messy if she ever finds out I've come back."

"She's gonna want revenge and kill you for good," Tabitha narrowed her eyes.

"Not to mention my issues with Daken will also have to be resolved," Amara said. "Killing me was bad enough but for what he put you through…I might get a little crazy about that…"

"So you want me to keep an eye on you and smack some sense into you," Tabitha said.

"Bingo. So I need you to have my back," Amara said. "I'm counting on you Tabitha."

"You know I always have your back, girlfriend," Tabitha hugged Amara. "But wait, if you come back in a new body, how am I going to know it's you?"

"I'll have the same powers as I did in my last life," Amara smirked. "I think you'll be able to figure it out. But just to be on the safe side…"

Amara heated up her finger and made a burn symbol on the palm of her left hand. It was in the shape of a small sun. "Look out for this mark. It'll be a birthmark on my new body. That's how you'll know it's me."

Tabitha began to fade. "What's happening?"

"You're going to wake up soon. People who aren't connected to the Golden Road like I am can only visit it a very short period of time," Amara explained. "Just remember what I said Tabitha!"

"Amara!" Tabitha began to fade even more. "Don't go!"

Amara called out. "Remember the mark Tabitha. Look out for me in my new life. I know I can count on you. Goodbye Tabitha. I'll see you soon…I hope…"

Tabitha yelled but couldn't be heard. She faded completely. "Do you think she got the message?" Amara let out a breath.

"I believe so," Aquinas nodded. He stood there with Antarus. Come, Princess. It's time." He pointed to a huge golden door nearby.

"So I won't remember anything?" Amara asked.

"No, not until you are ready," Aquinas shook his head.

"Can I at least be born as a girl again?" Amara asked.

"That's for the Golden Road to decide," The older incarnation said. "However…I have a feeling that you will stay a female in your next life. When you've seen as many reincarnations of yourself as I have…You get a sense of these things."

"How many of us are there?" Amara asked.

"Oh many," He smiled. "We have lived many times and had many different experiences and gained much wisdom. Some of our lives are your age or even younger. But all have acquired the wisdom of their lives. Wisdom they will pass on to the next. And it makes things a lot less lonely here. After the separation between your past life and your new one you will meet them all. It's time. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready," Amara nodded, bracing herself for what was to come.

"Stand in front of the door," Aquinas ordered.

"This is gonna sting a little," Antarus told her as he drew out his sword.

"No kidding," Amara gulped. She took a deep breath and forced herself to open her eyes.

The golden doors opened behind her, emitting a powerful golden light. With a swift slice Antarus sliced his sword through Amara from head to toe. She let out a yell as she turned into two Amaras. The second Amara was stunned yet looked more intact than she did. Amara's first form turned ghostly and pale. The second form was more solid.

Amara gasped as she saw her more solid form stagger backwards through the opening of the door. It disappeared in a flash and the doors closed with a bang.

"It is done," Aquinas spoke. Amara became less ghostly and looked solid again.

"That was…weird," Amara blinked. "I don't feel anything…I mean shouldn't I feel what's happening to…?"

"Your connection to your new life was completely severed," Aquinas explained. "You will have no feelings for your new self until your new life is ready. This part of your soul, the part of your soul that is you will stay here forever."

"Don't worry. Your new life will have many of the same connections your old one had," Antarus smiled as he put his sword away. "And you will be able to connect with her in the near future. It will come faster than you think. By then you will both know what to do."

"Well if it's anything like my last life, I have a feeling she's going to need all the help she can get," Amara said as she walked with her past lives out of the large temple.


	6. We Don't Need No Mutant Messiah Complex

**We Don't Need No Mutant Messiah Complex**

"Are you sure this was the right thing to do?" Kitty whispered to Sam.

"Tabitha wanted to make sure, and let's face it Emma's a dang good telepath," Sam told her. "With Jean away and Betsy in England there was no other option. And the Professor is too busy these days to ask."

Emma was sitting on the bed next to Tabitha. She focused on Tabitha's mind, keeping her hands to the side of her head. Tabitha looked like she was half asleep, her eyes closed. They were clearly in a telepathic trance.

"Still think it's creepy to just let Emma waltz through her mind and…" Kitty shuddered.

"I know you don't like Emma, Kitty. But she said she'd only focus on…" Sam began.

Suddenly Emma opened her eyes and put down her hands. "Well…That was unexpected."

"So was it all a dream or…?" Tabitha opened her eyes.

"No, I believe you when you said you contacted Amara," Emma told her.

"Actually Amara contacted **me**, but that's splitting hairs," Tabitha sighed.

"So what's the story?" Kitty asked. "What's all this about?"

"To put it simply Amara is going to be reincarnated," Emma said. "But before that somehow her spirit managed to contact Tabitha."

"For real?" Sam was stunned.

"Yeah for real. But I needed to make sure my brain wasn't playing tricks on me so that's why I asked Frost over here to check it out," Tabitha said.

"She was right to do so. I know the difference between self-delusion and the real thing and this **definitely** was the real thing," Emma nodded.

"Wait you've contacted ghosts **before?**" Sam asked.

"Well I have been on the astral plane many times," Emma gave him a look. "You'd be surprised at what's floating around up there."

"Long story short Amara is coming back with a new body but the same powers," Tabitha said. "And a sun shaped birthmark on her left hand. But she won't have any memory of her past life. That's why she contacted me."

"I think it's best to simply just say that this new Magma will have some challenges in the future," Emma interrupted. "We are going to have to tell Cyclops about this you know?"

"I know. I just needed to make certain I wasn't going to sound completely insane," Tabitha said.

"Your friendship was strong enough for her to contact you from the dead," Emma said. "I don't dismiss that lightly. I think when the time comes it might be in the best interests that you train this new Magma if and when she or he appears."

"I just hope I don't fail this Magma like I failed the other one," Tabitha sighed.

"You didn't fail her Tabitha," Emma said softly. "You did everything you could and more. She said it herself that it was her destiny to die a senseless death."

"There's…something else I really should tell you," Tabitha looked at Sam and then gave an angry look at Kitty. "But first I need you to do me another favor. Could you get the Misfits for me?"

"Particularly Pyro," Sam added.

"_Another_ one? Wait, why the Misfits?" Emma asked. "And why Pyro?"

"It's important," Sam said. "Kitty will tell you later. **Right** Kitty?"

"Me? But…Oh fine," Kitty groaned.

"Normally I'd say that your request would be ridiculous and tell you that bringing the Misfits back here would be a bad idea," Emma gritted her teeth. "But considering the severity of your first request I have to admit whatever you have to say must be important."

"It is," Tabitha said. "You'll know everything as soon as the Misfits and Pyro get here."

"Very well…" Emma got up and left the room. "No sense getting a preview of the madness yet to come. I'll go tell Cyclops to tell those lunatics to come over and leave their gifts at home!"

"What?" Tabitha asked.

"Oh right you haven't been in Bayville," Kitty said. "Long story short Emma is trying to keep the Misfits out of our hair by banning them from the new Institute."

"But the Institute hasn't been built yet," Tabitha said.

"Still hasn't stopped her from trying," Sam smirked. "And it hasn't stopped the Misfits from sending her little gifts."

"I particularly enjoyed the oversized sweaters," Kitty smirked. "You know the ones that make you look really fat?"

"Nah the best one was this morning. They gave her a bunch of small monkeys and one of them jumped up and gave Emma a big kiss on the mouth!" Sam laughed.

"Oh that's funny," Tabitha snickered. Then she got serious. "You know she's not going to take the news well."

"Actually that part doesn't bother me as much," Kitty admitted.

"Good then **you **can tell her and the others while Sam and I tell Pyro!" Tabitha snapped.

"Oh boy…" Kitty winced.

"Ha ha…" Sam gave her a look.

One hour later…

"All right what's all this about?" Althea sighed as the Misfits congregated in the mansion's living room with the X-Men.

"We don't know. Kitty and Cannonball are calling the shots," Logan pointed.

"Ooh! Shots! Are we going to shoot something?" Pyro said happily.

"Uh no. Pyro come with me. Tabitha and I…Have to tell you something," Sam groaned.

"Okey Dokey Smokey Pokey!" Pyro cheerfully followed Sam.

"All right Kitty what's going on?" Logan asked. "Why does Meltdown want to talk to Pyro?"

"Well she thought that it was best to tell him in person about something and she also thought it was best that I tell the rest of you about **everything**," Kitty began. "This is gonna be a little weird."

"With Pyro involved odds are that is going to be **very** weird," Bobby quipped.

"You don't know the half of it," Kitty groaned.

"It can't be weirder than the time Pyro blew up that supermarket to save the world from a pineapple invasion and then it turned out that the lobsters inside were actually aliens trying to take over the world," Pietro scoffed.

"What? When was this?" Scott yelled.

"A long time ago," Pietro waved. "Classified information."

"You fought **alien lobsters**?" Scott asked.

"They weren't really lobsters. They just looked like lobsters," Todd corrected.

"Before we get further off track, Kitty could you please inform us all what you need to say so that we can go our separate ways and I can breathe air free of Misfit pollutants!" Emma bristled.

"Still got that monkey breath don't you?" Todd asked cheerfully.

"Toad if you did not have that…more aggressive and powerful personality inside of you I would lobotomize you on the spot!" Emma snarled. "So Pryde get on with it before I am tempted to follow through with my fantasy!"

"Okay remember way back to the day Switch was running around and things got a little crazy?" Kitty asked. "Well technically you can't blame anyone but Switch for the mess that happened on that day right? I mean seriously if you think about it, this is all her fault!"

"**What** is all her fault?" Scott asked. "Kitty where is this conversation going?"

"And why am I afraid of its destination?" Rogue asked.

"Well you see…It's like this…" Kitty struggled to put it into words.

"Kitty what could be so…" Emma shook her head.

"YIPPEEEEE!"

"Did Pyro just say Yippee?" Kurt blinked.

"Uh oh. That's not a good sign," Lance blinked.

"WHOOO HOOO!" Pyro was heard screaming. "I'M GONNA BE A DADDY!"

"WHAT?" Everyone screamed at the same time.

"Did he just say something that should **never **be said?" Rogue asked.

"Maybe some of the monkeys got pregnant or something?" Fred told her. "You know and he wants to take care of them?"

"Okay that makes sense," Rogue said.

"**That** makes **sense**?" Lance asked.

"Well it's better than the **alternative** which is going through my mind and I don't want to believe it!" Rogue snapped.

"He's right," Bobby said. "Pray for monkeys."

"Guys! Guys! I'm gonna be a daddy!" Pyro whooped as he ran in. Sam followed dejectedly. "I'm gonna be a daddy! I gotta get life insurance and cigars and a little flame thrower and…"

"Hold on!" Rogue shouted. "Now when you say 'Daddy' you don't mean…? I mean…?"

"Please say not a biological father only as a step parent to a monkey," Bobby groaned.

"No, he means a real flesh and blood biological father," Sam sighed.

"Yeah! It's official! Me, Sam and Tabby are gonna be parents! Isn't that great?" Pyro jumped up and down happily. "We're gonna be one happy family! Right Brother Husband Dad?" He hugged Sam.

"Somebody kill me…" Sam moaned.

"Hold it! Pyro is going to be a…?" Lance's jaw dropped.

"YOU LET THAT MANIAC REPRODUCE?" Scott shouted at Lance.

"US? WHAT DO YOU…?" Lance yelled back.

"You can't blame us for this!" Shipwreck had arrived with the Misfits. "We gave him the sex talk and everything! At least I think we did. Did we?"

"Wait a minute! Hold on a second! Back up!" Logan shouted. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

"Well it was my body Sam used when he…you know?" Pyro shrugged. "But it wasn't really his fault since technically he wasn't cheating on Tabby. So he's the baby's spiritual father even though I'm the biological father! That makes us both dads!"

"What did he just say?" Rogue blinked. "I don't remember because I think I might be having a stroke."

"Okay am I the only one who is completely lost here?" Fred looked around.

"For once, no," Pietro said. "Pyro what are you talking about?"

"Tabitha is having my baby! Well it is Sam's baby too! Since he had a part in it," Pyro said.

"Rogue I think I may also be having the same stroke you are," Althea blinked.

"Now I am really confused about human reproduction," Xi blinked.

"Join the club," Laura said.

"Kitty! Kitty! You're gonna be a godmother! You gotta be!" Pyro hugged Kitty. "I mean it's your cake that caused all this to happen! We wouldn't have this baby if it wasn't for you!"

"Now **I** am confused," Shipwreck said. "And I've been an expert on the subject for years!"

"Yeah it's one of the few things he is good at!" Althea agreed. "Pyro how exactly is Kitty involved in you and Sam and Tabitha…How is she involved in all **this?"**

"And cake right? You did say something about cake?" Fred blinked. "Because normally in my family this type of situation a pie is used. Or pudding. And in one case some Tiramisu…"

"Blob, we can only take one brain drain at a time," Pietro held up his hand. "Pryde you got some splainin' to do!"

"Well it was Kitty's cake that we ate but we didn't know it was her cake," Pyro interjected.

"Cake? What cake?" Ororo asked.

"Wait, are you talking about that rum cake Kitty made at that incident with Switch?" Lance asked. "The one where half the guests got sick on?"

"I remember! But wait…I told Kitty to throw it out!" Scott said. Then he looked at Kitty. "You did throw it out, didn't you?"

"Uh not exactly," Kitty coughed. "Okay this is kind of funny if you think about it. I may have kind of given the cake to Tabitha, Pyro and Sam to taste test and may have not exactly explained where I got the cake…And they may have gotten a teensy bit drunk off it."

"Teensy bit? We got soused!" Pyro said. "But it was all good since it led to the baby. Hell, almost all members of my family got born that way!"

"Oh no…Oh dear lord no!" Emma moaned.

"Wait a second…" Rogue put it all together. "Wait you mean drunk as in Tabitha slept with…?"

"Sam! Only Sam!" Pyro said. "It's not like Tabitha is a slut. She just happened to sleep with Sam while he was in my body and…"

"_Your body_?" Remy yelled.

"They did not cover this in health class that's for sure," Bobby blinked.

"Wait hold on! Let me see if I got the gist of this," Scott held up his hand. "Kitty, you didn't throw out the cake you made like I asked you too. Instead you gave it to Tabitha, Sam and Pyro without telling them where the cake was from or who made it, am I right?"

"Yeah…" Kitty winced.

"And then after that Tabitha, Sam and Pyro got drunk on the cake," Scott put the pieces together. "And since you mentioned Switch I'm guessing Pyro and Sam switched bodies. Am I right?"

"Pretty much. But we had no idea Kitty made that cake!" Sam said. "She said she got it from a bakery!"

"Well that goes without saying," Lance said. "No one in their right mind would **willingly **eat a cake if they knew Kitty made it!"

"HEY!" Kitty protested.

"The truth hurts Kitty. Get over it," Lance said.

"Oh yeah. That's true," Several mutants mumbled. "Definitely no way I'll eat anything Kitty makes."

"I still have nightmares about the muffins," Kurt moaned.

"Even I get the willies every time I even see a muffin!" Logan admitted. "Hold on…Wait if all of you got drunk on Kitty's cake and if Sam and Pyro switched bodies thanks to Switch which means…" He did a double take. "Oh no…"

"Oh yes," Emma sighed.

"Oh crap!" Rogue realized what was going on.

"YOU FOOL! YOU'VE DOOMED US ALL!" Emma screamed at Kitty.

"How do you figure that?" Kitty snapped.

"This baby is the only one I know of after M-Day!" Emma said. "In other words the first mutant child to be born will be the child of Meltdown and Pyro, two of the most unstable mutants in history! Instead of being a beacon of hope for mutant kind, it will be a beacon of doom!"

"Big fiery doom," Althea groaned. "Emphasis on the fire and doom!"

"God instead of a mutant messiah we're going to the Mutant Antichrist!" Emma wailed.

"What makes you all so sure the Mutant Antichrist isn't already **here?**" Lance pointed at Kitty.

"You do make a very convincing argument," Emma agreed.

"Well yeah. Look at all the evidence," Lance shrugged.

"There is a lot of it," Emma nodded.

"Hey!" Kitty protested.

"So what do we do now? How do we do this?" Fred asked.

"I guess we're just going to have to find a way for the three of us to raise this baby together," Sam sighed. "Because like it or not Pyro is the baby's biological father…."

"No, I mean do we all go after Kitty at once or do we take turns?" Fred asked.

"Go after her?" Emma blinked.

"For causing this mess and bringing the Mutant Antichrist," Fred explained.

"Oh **that**! Oh yes I see your point," Emma said. "Oh what the hell? I'll go first. DIE PRYDE! DIE!"

"Emma! It's not my fault!" Kitty backed up as several people restrained Emma. "Tabitha, Sam and Pyro are the ones that got drunk!"

"On your cake! They never would have done what they did if you hadn't given them that stupid cake!" Emma snarled.

"That's for sure!" Sam snapped.

"It's their bad judgment!" Kitty protested.

"Kitty, when you put drugs in a farmer's water supply and the sheep that drink it go crazy and trash a neighbor's vegetable garden, you don't blame the sheep do you?" Sam asked. "You blame the idiot who got the sheep crazy in the first place!"

"An apt metaphor if there ever was one," Emma said.

"That actually happened a few times in my family," Fred said. "Of course some of those sheep were emus…"

"Not now Blob," Lance groaned.

"You know what this means?" Althea gave Emma a look. "It means your little campaign to keep us Misfits away from you has completely failed."

"Oh god you're right! Everything I have ever done to preserve the future sanity of the Institute has been utterly futile!" Emma groaned. "Thanks a lot Kitty!"

"What's worse is that we're stuck with the X-Men!" Pietro groaned.

"We were already stuck together," Rogue gave him a look.

"You know what I mean!" Pietro snapped. "You may bash us Misfits but at least we didn't give Pyro any opportunity to **breed!**"

"You have a point," Rogue apologized. "I'm sorry."

"Actually the more I think about it, it's **Kitty** that should be sorry!" Bobby pointed.

"I am!" Kitty protested to the angry crowd.

"Not enough!" Emma shouted.

"Yeah, not enough!" Sam snapped. "Let's get her!"

"AAAHHHHH!" Kitty ran from Sam and Emma.

"YOU CAN RUN ALL YOU WANT PRYDE! THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN HIDE!" Sam shouted.

"Okay I think the best thing to do is go in groups. That way we won't all get tired out at the same time and have a better chance at beating up Kitty," Rogue said cheerfully. "Emma and Sam are obviously in Group A. Whoever is in Group B can take over after lunchtime. I volunteer to lead Group B."

"I'll be a part of Group B," Lance volunteered.

"So will I," Wanda said.

"I'll be in Group B too," Fred raised his hand. "I get mad better on a full stomach."

"Anybody want to go into Group A now and help Emma and Sam?" Rogue asked. "In the interests of unity someone from the Misfits should go."

"Oh well in that case I'll go!" Pietro zipped off. "PRYDE! YOU ARE REALLY IN FOR IT NOW!"

"What did she do to him?" Scott asked.

"Nothing. He just doesn't want to be left out," Wanda shrugged. "So what do we do about this?"

"I think it might be best if Tabitha and Sam go over to the Misfits for a while at least until after the baby is born," Hank suggested.

"Wait, why should we send those two over to the **Misfits?**" Scott asked.

"Dude, you really want Pyro to stay with **us?**" Bobby gave him a look.

"Good point. How about we throw in Kitty too?" Scott asked.

"Forget it! No way are we going to take in **that** train wreck!" Lance snapped.

"Yeah it's bad enough we got Pyro and Tabitha," Althea said. "Sam isn't so bad and yeah Pyro we already have but still…"

"So the first mutant to be born after M-Day will be a child of Pyro and Tabitha?" Hank sighed. "It's official. The mutant race is doomed."

"Oh come on now! I'm sure you have reservations about Pyro being a father but with Tabitha as a mother I'm sure everything will be fine," Scott said. "And even as the words came out of my mouth I realized how stupid that comment was."

"We are so doomed," Rogue moaned.


	7. Being a Public Servant Is So Much Fun

**Now how would the rest of the mutants react to the news that the X-Men are in charge of their personal files? And if the X-Men are supposedly the best and the brightest what are the rest of the mutants like? Oh boy…This is going to be interesting. **

**Being a Public Servant Is So Much Fun**

"Are you sure I should be with you for this meeting?" Bobby asked as he and Scott made their way to a podium set up outside. Over a hundred mutants were waiting for them to speak in a grassy area which still had some trees that survived the battle. "I mean the closest I ever came to public speaking was announcing the rules at our video game tournaments at the Institute."

"Everyone else is too busy," Scott said.

"Well what about Kitty? She's not **that** busy!" Bobby said.

"Somehow I think a woman in the tabloids for sleeping around with a married secret service agent and has just been photographed beating up that secret service agent for the fourth or fifth time isn't appropriate," Scott sighed.

"She beat up Wisdom **again?**" Bobby snickered. "When was this?"

"This morning," Scott sighed. "There was an international committee of government agents and mutants from overseas and Wisdom was there apparently guarding them. He should have been guarding other things. Like his mouth and common sense."

"He hit on Kitty again didn't he?" Bobby asked.

"Yes, and she hit **back,"** Scott sighed. "Very hard. Right through the window."

"Whoa," Bobby whistled.

"Fortunately Wisdom's superiors aren't pressing charges," Scott sighed. "Apparently Wisdom has pulled too many similar stunts in the past. And judging from the claps and cheers from the delegates I don't think they were too upset what Kitty did. Even the male French delegates called Wisdom a sexist pig. So that should tell you something right there."

"I'm starting to get the picture," Bobby said. "So basically I'm the only one you trust to not cause a fight or make a scene."

"Bingo," Scott said. "Just let me do the talking. This shouldn't take long."

"Good, I'm seriously missing some quality video game time," Bobby joked.

"Everyone who had questions about the Whithalf's Solution Amendment is here, Cyclops," Rocker was there waiting for them.

"Good," Scott nodded. "The sooner we explain what's in the bill the easier people will feel about this whole situation."

"I don't know. Some of them will never be fully convinced no matter how much you explain it," Rocker shrugged. "But it's worth a try."

"Hey what building is this going to be?" Bobby looked and noticed that the podium was right in back of a huge frame work. Several other mutants were working on it.

"Blob's cousin Reverend Shirley has decided to set up and head a new branch of her church," Scott explained. "Baptal Lutheran Episcopalian Schrute. It's a very progressive church that celebrates mutants and gives out free beer and other alcoholic beverages at sermons."

"That would explain why so many people were signing up this morning," Rocker blinked.

"Well it's important to have some humans in our town as well as some kind of house of worship for the community," Scott said. "Not to mention the church is also going to serve as a bar in the back."

"Damn I gotta take a look at this church," Rocker said. "Excuse me…" He went off to inspect the church.

Scott went to the podium. The mutants gathered around quieted down and waited for him to speak. "Hello, I'd like to get this meeting started if you please."

"Here we go…" Someone muttered as the crowd settled down.

"Thank you. I'd like to welcome you all to our first official town meeting," Scott said. "I will keep this as brief as possible. To let you know how things are going to be run in this town. Basically this will be a town where mutants can live in peace. Obviously we are going to bring in some humans that are tolerant of mutants but the majority of the citizens will be mutants."

"No kidding!" Someone called out from the back. "I thought the majority of the town was gonna be infested with gophers!"

"I can already see a few **rats** around here," A tall man snapped, glaring at the X-Men.

"Obviously the rumors about mutant registration are leaving a lot of you confused and upset," Scott spoke. "So I am here to explain how this will work."

"Oh we **know** how this is gonna work!" Someone called out. "Xavier and his lapdogs get off scott free and we get the shaft!"

"Xavier is gonna run this town and turn it into his own private army," Callisto agreed.

"Actually Xavier is no longer head of the X-Men and the Institute," Scott said. "Although he will pay many critical roles in organization and diplomatic missions, I lead the X-Men now. And when the Institute is officially rebuilt we will have someone else become headmaster of the school."

"When you say **someone else** you're not talking about Iceman are you?" Pyro asked as he pointed to Bobby.

"No," Scott said. "Pyro don't you have anything better to do?"

"Not really," Pyro said. "Just thought I'd watch and have a laugh."

"Let me handle this Scott," Bobby said. "Pyro there's a rogue platoon of pineapples on the south wall…."

"I'M ON IT!" Pyro ran off. "DEATH TO PINEAPPLES!"

Scott gave Bobby an incredulous look. "How did you know…?"

"How did you **not** know?" Bobby asked. "Haven't you been paying attention these past few years?"

"Can we get back to this whole registration thing?" A woman called out. "I have a lot of questions about that."

"Right. As you have all probably heard by now the X-Men are now in charge of Mutant Affairs," Scott explained. "This means we are in charge of mutant registration."

"I knew it! They're going to make us all register and become weapons of the government!" Someone shouted. The crowd was not happy about that.

"No, no…" Scott held up his hands. "That's **not **how it works! You're already registered with Cerebro."

"What do you mean we're _already registered_?" A familiar stout man with curly black hair called out. "I'm Solomon O'Sullivan! And I say we have rights!" The crowd agreed.

"How can we already be registered? What did you do? Take our fingerprints in the middle of the night?" A woman with horns called out.

"No, that's not how it works!" Scott held up his hands for silence. "Cerebro is a device that detects the X-Gene in mutants all over the world. Mutants give out a certain brainwave signature as well as a genetic signature and Cerebro can pinpoint where a mutant and who it is the moment that mutant uses his or her powers."

"Seriously?" Someone called out.

"Seriously," Bobby nodded.

"Oh crap we're screwed!" Someone called out.

"No, no you're not! That's the beauty of this whole system," Scott said. "The government will **not** have your files! The X-Men will! You see the difference?"

"Not really," Solomon said. "Aren't you people **part **of the government now?"

"Technically…" Scott sighed. "My point is we're going to be in charge of your safety…"

"Now I **know** we're screwed!" Callisto yelled.

"The X-Men will guard the secret files and keep them from falling into the wrong hands," Scott said. "So nobody outside of us will know if you're a mutant if that's how you want it."

"Oh gee. Now I **really** feel better!" A male mutant with blue scales all over his body and huge bat like wings called out. "Nobody will **ever** figure out I'm a mutant! Hallelujah!"

"Hey it's not our fault some of us can pass and others can't!" A young brown haired woman called out.

"Yeah you're not exactly broken up about it," Solomon remarked.

"Who are you to talk? You look human!" A green skinned woman called out.

"Only if I don't go to the beach," Solomon lifted up his shirt to show writing all over his leathery skinned chest.

"Big deal! All you have to do is put a shirt on!" The blue scaled winged mutant called out. "Some of us don't have that option!"

"You can always put a sheet over your head and pretend you're a ghost," The brown haired woman remarked.

"I think we're getting away from the conversation here," Scott called out. "My point is the X-Men are going to protect the files from those who want to kill us."

"It's a little late for **that!**" A dark skinned mutant with red eyes shouted. "A few weeks ago Sentinels nearly wiped us out and now you hand over all those files so some secret soldier project can finish the job!"

"They're not handing the files over to the government," A gray mutant boy with white hair called out.

"Thank you…" Scott let out a breath.

"They're handing them over to aliens who live in another dimension!" The gray boy shouted. "Of course they're also secretly running the government. So I can see how you could make a mistake like that."

"This is going to be harder than I thought…" Scott sighed as there was an outcry from the crowd.

One hour later…

"Okay let's go over this **again**…" Scott gritted his teeth. "Cerebro automatically detects a mutant signature. Therefore you are automatically registered. No forms. No fuss. No fingerprints. No tattoos. No picture taking. No ID cards. No blood samples. No body scans. No digital copies sent to the aliens in the sky or other dimensions. No microchips put in your brain, behind or **anywhere** on your body. No need to wear bracelets or anything that identifies you as a mutant. Nothing! Got it?"

"Unless we don't **need** identification," The blue skinned winged mutant grumbled. "Either way we're screwed!"

"So you're saying this Cerebro identifies us whether we want it or not?" A human looking mutant male with brown hair called out.

"Would you rather fill out a form?" Scott snapped, losing his temper.

"You have a point," The mutant shrugged. "That is a time saver."

"Fine. Moving on. Second, this information is **not** to be given out to just anyone unless you have committed a crime," Scott said. "Or go out of control and wipe out another country or something like that."

"What if this country that gets wiped out is one we don't like?" The gray teen called out. "Like we're at war with them or something?"

"Doesn't matter! The point is unless you commit a crime your information stays safe!" Scott snapped. "We do **not** give it out to anyone. Not the government. Not to the police. Not to the army. Not to any aliens or pineapples or **anyone else!** Understand?"

"What about the post office?" A rock like mutant asked.

"No, not the post office," Scott sighed.

"Well what if we want the post office to know where we live so we can get our mail?" The rock like mutant asked.

"Then you go to the post office to deal with all that! But that has nothing to do with registering mutant powers! That's just for mail stuff!" Scott told him.

"But don't eighteen year old guys have to register for selective service anyway with the post office?" The gray boy asked anyway. "And I missed that when I hid from the government. So am I in trouble because I'm nineteen now and didn't register?"

"No. I'm pretty sure…" Scott began.

"Pretty sure? I'm looking at a stretch in federal prison because you're only **pretty sure?"** The gray teen asked.

"I'm sure there's some kind of amnesty for that," Scott sighed. "Bobby take a note. We'll call and check that out with our lawyers and get back to you on that. But I think you'll be fine because the government is only really interested in mutants that commit crimes."

"What do you mean by crimes?" An orange skinned female mutant asked.

"Crimes. You know? Bank robberies, rape, murder. Theft. Terrorism. Blowing up a country. That sort of thing," Scott gritted his teeth.

"What about littering? Is that considered a crime?" A female mutant asked.

"No, not serious enough. But you shouldn't litter anyway," Scott said.

"What if we get a speeding ticket?" Another mutant asked.

"Depends are you driving a car or just running around with super speed?" Bobby asked.

"Bobby!" Scott snapped.

"It is a legitimate question!" Bobby defended.

"No, just driving a car," The mutant said.

"No, that has nothing to do with mutant powers," Scott sighed.

"What if you got a speeding ticket for driving a car too fast but you just happened to have super speed anyway, but you weren't using it at the time?" Another mutant with blue hair asked.

"Look this is not **rocket science** people!" Scott snapped. "Don't kill anybody! Don't steal anything! Don't blow something or somebody up with your powers! That's all you have to do to not have your information be given to the government."

"What if you fall behind on your taxes?" A female mutant asked. "Wouldn't the IRS want your information?"

"That's a federal crime right there!" The gray teen called out. "I knew it. We're all going up the river."

"You are **not** going up the river," Scott told him.

"We've been hunted for over a year now!" A female mutant with bat wings shouted. "It's kind of hard to file when your own government wants to blow you up!"

"She's right! That's how they're going to nail us!" Solomon called out. "Tax evasion!"

"They won't do that," Scott said.

"Yeah right! That's what Al Capone thought!" Solomon snapped. The crowd agreed. "You're supposed to be representing us right? You gotta tell those IRS big shots that the only reason we didn't pay is that we didn't want to be killed!"

"No taxation without representation!" Someone shouted.

"Where the hell are we going to get money to pay taxes?" Callisto yelled. "Some of us haven't had a paying job in years!"

"And those of us that do have money aren't exactly gonna tell the government where they got it," Solomon remarked.

"All right! All right! We'll make a call to them too! I'm sure we can work something out with the IRS," Scott rubbed his head. "Give some kind of extension or something."

"You give us your word?" Solomon asked.

"I'll talk to them!" Scott snapped. "Bobby take a note to call the IRS after this meeting. Are you happy?"

"We'll be happy if don't end up in jail," The female mutant with bat wings said. "And another thing. What about our driver's licenses?"

"What about them?" Scott asked.

"Most of ours are either forgeries or expired. Are we going to be prosecuted for that?" She spoke up.

"Sharon has a good point," Solomon said. "Technically we did break the law because of that."

"Well so did the X-Men and the Misfits," Bobby said. "Hey, they could get us too for that."

"Oh don't **you **start!" Scott snapped.

"Scott you gotta admit we do have a lot of gray area here," Bobby said. "I know for a fact that half the weapons we have at the mansion in San Francisco and what we used to have at the Institute were not only against local zoning codes but parts of the Geneva Convention."

"Weapons charges! They could get us on weapons charges!" The gray teen shouted.

"Mutant powers are not considered weapons under the law as long as you don't use them in a crime!" Scott snapped.

"Maybe not but those guns we used to run during our time in the mutant mob…I mean mutant freedom organization sure were!" A male mutant of Italian heritage spoke up.

"Uh I'm a techno mutant and I made a switchblade that's also a mini lightsaber," A young man spoke up. "Does that count as an illegal weapon?"

"Just out of curiosity how legal are the guns we got in our new police force and the weapons you got in your jet?" Solomon called out.

"Okay let's **come back** to this question!" Scott called out. "After we have some talks with our lawyers."

"Is that before or after the question about the post office?" The gray teen called out.

"Look all you have to do is not kill anybody or steal anything!" Scott snapped. "Can you at least do that?"

"What about squirrels?" Someone called out. "Can we do stuff to squirrels?"

"Why do you ask **that** question?" Scott asked.

"CHEEE!"

ZAPP!

To the right Scott saw a small group of squirrels running around. One of them shot out optic beams from its eyes. "What the…?" His jaw dropped.

"For the past few years there have been a few secret experimental labs around Bayville," The blue scaled winged mutant called out. "The geniuses who ran them thought that by giving the X-Gene to animals, they could study the animals and find a way to cure humans of the X-Gene. They didn't find a cure. But the animals found their way **out** of the labs!"

"How many are we talking about?" Bobby blinked.

"CHEEEE!"

ZAP! ZAP!

"Quite a few," Solomon sighed. "And Shirley didn't make things any easier!"

"Sorry, my bad," A young woman with pink fur called out as she held a squirrel. "I've been keeping them as pets and breeding them. But it's not like they didn't already have their powers when I got them."

"Did you set any loose?" Scott asked, having a sinking feeling where this conversation was going.

"I didn't set any loose," Shirley shrugged. "Technically."

"But some **got **loose am I right?" Scott sighed.

"Just a couple…dozen…" Shirley gulped.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAPPP!

"There goes another wall that we just built," Bobby groaned.

"That one was not one of mine," Shirley said. "Mine only shoot green energy beams from their eyes. That one was red!"

ZZZAAAPPPPPPPPPPPP!

"Chitter! Chitter!"

"Okay **tha**t one was one of mine," Shirley shrugged as a branch fell from a green beam.

"Are you telling me there are mutant squirrels running amok in Bayville?" Scott shouted.

"CAW!"

FOOOOOOOOM!

"And a few dozen kind of mutant birds," Bobby winced as a fire breathing hawk roasted one of the wild mutant squirrels alive.

"And some mutant mice," Solomon called out. "And hamsters. Oh and I think there's a couple of mutant cats running around somewhere."

"That was me," A brown female cat like mutant gave him a look.

"No, I'm talking about an actual cat," Solomon said. "It had wings. Do you have wings?"

"Oh you mean a mutant **cat**…" The cat woman realized. "Like the ones in the woods behind the wall?"

"Yeah like those," Scott sighed. "Wait….**What?"**

"RARRRR!"

Several winged cats of various colors flew by chasing the mutant squirrels. "Holy…" Bobby's jaw dropped. "You don't see a sight like that every day!"

"Actually lately we have been seeing sights like that every day," Solomon remarked. "Thanks a lot Shirley!"

"I like animals! Sue me!" Shirley snapped.

"Believe me, if I knew you had a dime to your name I would!" Solomon snapped.

"So now we have mutant birds, squirrels, mice and cats with powers?" Scott asked.

"SQUEEEEEEEKKK!"

ZZZZZZZZZZZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"And hamsters," Solomon remarked as a hamster with super speed ran by.

"This is ridiculous!" Scott groaned.

"Oh like we didn't do the same thing when we raided those Weapon X bases?" Bobby asked. "And uh you know? The incident with Amie-Jay and the Amster-Hays?"

"THE MUTANT HAMSTERS WERE **YOU?"** Solomon shouted.

"That was Multiple!" Scott called out. "Uh yeah, Multiple. When he was a kid he had a few hamsters that escaped…."

"That's the guy you arrested the other day right?" Solomon asked. "Well at least you guys are doing **something **right! Those stupid hamsters ate my briefcase!"

"That's an example of a crime right?" The orange woman asked. "Mutating hamsters and setting them loose?"

"Yes," Scott sighed. "No illegal genetic experimentation either. Got it?"

"Well that we **all** agree on," Solomon shrugged.

"I have to ask, what exactly is the point of all this again?" A large brown rock like mutant with red eyes raised his hand.

"We're talking about registration of our mutant identities you nitwit!" A thin woman who Scott recognized as the Morlock Scaleface snapped.

"But what good is it for?" The rock mutant asked.

"To make the humans feel oh so safe in their homes," Callisto spoke out in a mocking tone.

"Yes but it's also to protect us," Scott said. "It's a compromise. We handle the registration but the government won't know your identity unless you commit a crime…"

"Or you're an obvious mutant," The blue scaled winged mutant remarked.

"Or you're late on your taxes," Solomon remarked.

"Or you want to get your mail," The gray teen added.

"We'll look into that part! We have lawyers!" Scott protested. "So to recap. Very simple. Cerebro detects your X-Gene and registers you. The X-Men protect your identity from the government unless you commit a crime. Got it? Any questions?"

"It still does not make me feel any better to know the **X-Men** are in charge," Callisto snarled.

"Well the Misfits are helping too," Bobby said.

"Great now I feel **worse!**" Callisto threw up her hands.

"Those guys are even crazier than you are!" The rock mutant cried out.

"We're doomed," Shirley moaned.

"We are **not **doomed!" Scott said. "And yes I admit they are crazy but you know? Not exactly a time to be picky. So any other questions?"

"Yeah do you check mutant DNA for compatibility?" A thin red skinned mutant with glasses held up his hand.

"Compatibility?" Scott blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well if you have our DNA on file then it stands to reason you could calculate the most compatible mutations within the general population," The thin red mutant spoke. "Is it possible for us to request that you do a genetic background check…with other mutants that request this similar service of course…in order to find mutants whose DNA would be passed on to more adaptable offspring…"

"This is **not **a _dating service!"_ Scott nearly screamed the words in frustration. "Once again, the X-Men will hold onto your files and make sure no one gets them unless you commit a crime!"

"Except for the post office so we can register and get our mail," The gray skinned teen spoke up.

"Except for the post office so…No! Yes! I don't know! I said we'd get the lawyers on it!" Scott was definitely frustrated now. "So just go about your business. Don't commit any crimes like murder or theft…"

"Genetic manipulation and conspiring with aliens to take over the planet…" The gray skinned teen added.

"Yeah those too! No helping aliens take over the planet! _Why not?"_ Scott threw up his hands. "Don't do that!"

"What about arson?" Solomon asked casually.

"Of course you can't…" Scott looked up and saw smoke in the distance. "Please tell me that's **not** the direction Pyro went."

"Okay I won't tell you," Bobby quipped.

"Look I'm sure Pyro is just burning some mutant squirrels or something…" Scott was definitely getting a headache. "Bobby go take care of it before Pyro burns everything down!"

"Why me?" Bobby asked.

"You were the one who got him worked up over alien pineapples in the first place!" Scott snapped.

"Sheesh! You don't have to yell," Bobby muttered as he went off.

"Does anyone have any more questions," Scott groaned. Several hands went up. "Keeping in mind I **already** answered those about the mail, dating services, driver's licenses and the aliens!"

"So you're not even going to **consider **making a dating service?" The rock mutant spoke up. "Because if it's voluntary I'll sign up!"

"If you do make one do we have to pay a fee?" Another mutant from the back of the crowd asked.

"Well I would think so because it's an extra service," Shirley said. "It's optional and not part of the standard package."

"Oh yeah that makes sense," The rock mutant nodded.

"Callisto is right. We're all doomed," Scott moaned as he put his head on the podium.

"So when are we gonna get our mail?" The gray teen asked.

"We'll get back to you! Meeting adjourned!" Scott stormed off.

He soon met up with Ororo, Emma and Hank. "So did they understand what the registration process is?" Hank asked.

"Sort of…" Scott groaned. "We're gonna need more lawyers."

"Lawyers?" Ororo asked.

"Lawyers that know about the postal service, tax evasion and IRS laws," Scott sighed. "Oh and maybe one that knows something about dating services."

"Dating services?" Emma blinked.

"Don't ask…" Scott groaned.

"Dating services?" Ororo wondered. "How did that get into the topic of the new Mutant Protocols?"

"I said not to ask," Scott told her. "Believe me you don't want to know!"

"SQUEEEEK!"

"MEOOWWWWWWWW!"

The mutants were almost knocked over. First by a super-fast hamster and then by a group of winged cats.

"And maybe an exterminator squad specially trained to handle mutant pests…" Scott moaned.


	8. Bayville Needs A Slogan

**Bayville Needs A Slogan**

"Of all the things that need to be done around here this is the **least **of our worries!" Logan protested as he walked into a large tent with Rocker and Scott. He saw that Todd, Fred, Tabitha, Bobby and Pyro were sitting at a large table with several other mutants he didn't know. "And what are all they doing here?"

"We've been specially chosen as a think tank!" Pyro said proudly.

"If that's true this is gonna be the emptiest think thank that ever existed," Logan groaned. "Seriously what is this all about?"

"We just think that by giving Bayville a new town slogan it will help with the morale of the place," Rocker said. "Giving some of our citizens a break from their duties to help rebuild the town spiritually."

"That's right we're spiritual!" Fred beamed. "Hand me some of those donuts will ya Tabby?"

"This box is mine," Tabitha was stuffing her face. "Get your own."

"We've got some more here," Todd grabbed another box on the table and passed it down to Fred. "Do you have enough Meltdown or do you need another dozen boxes?"

"I'm eating for two!" Tabitha snapped with her mouth full.

"It looks like you're eating for twelve," Bobby remarked. "I thought you were resting back at Misfit Manor because of your **delicate condition?"**

"Hey it's my body that needs a break! Not my brain! I can give it a bit of a workout," Tabitha said.

"Why start now?" Logan groaned.

"Look I'm feeling better now and I was just going nuts cooped up in that mansion," Tabitha took something out of her pocket. It was a small bottle. She emptied the contents onto the donut in her hand.

"Going nuts?" Todd gave her a look. "What is that you are putting on your donut?"

"Hot sauce," Tabitha grinned as she took a bite. "Man this is the best idea I ever had! Anybody want one?"

"I'm guessing her delicate condition doesn't apply to her stomach," A grey skinned teen mutant grumbled.

"Oh come on now it's normal for pregnant woman to have odd cravings," Shirley, the pink furred mutant spoke up. Her eyes widened as Tabitha started chugging hot sauce from the bottle. "But this is something I never heard of…"

"Tabby that hot sauce is extra spicy!" Todd was stunned. "Ain't that hot?"

"Not really, for some reason even the triple hot stuff is pretty freaking mild for me," Tabitha shrugged as she finished the bottle. "Dang. I'm empty."

"Here love," Pyro took out a bottle from his coat. "I always carry a spare. Actually I like all my food extra hot and spicy too! If your eyes ain't watering, it ain't hot enough!"

"I think I just figured out the particular reason why Tabitha is craving hot things," Scott groaned. "Now I know."

"And knowing is a very good reason to invest in tabasco sauce," Fred nodded.

"Or in a dozen fire extinguishers," Bobby added.

"Okay can we back up out of Crazy Pregnancy Land for a minute?" Logan pulled Scott and Rocker aside. "What is all this?"

"I told you, some of our…less than skilled citizens want to make some kind of positive contribution," Rocker told him. "Something that doesn't involve power tools or fires…"

"Or mutant squirrels?" Scott looked at Shirley.

"Well yes," Rocker admitted.

"Translation, you're giving the less intelligent nut jobs busy work so they'd stay out of the way of the rest of us," Logan asked.

"Bingo," Rocker nodded. "Told you I was good for government work."

"Hey we came up with a lot of slogans," Fred spoke up. "You want to hear them?"

"Not really," Logan sighed. "I'm out of here!"

"Stay!" Scott snapped. "If we have to hear this so do you?"

"Why?" Logan asked. "To torture me?"

"Pretty much yeah," Rocker said as he and the other standing mutants sat down. "Why should we be the only ones to suffer?"

"Besides don't you have that healing factor that makes you oh so indestructible?" Scott smirked.

"It's not **that **good," Logan moaned. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

"Okay so as you all know we need a new town slogan," Rocker said. "Something that symbolizes the new town spirit and dedicate its rebirth."

"Just curious here. What was Bayville's old town slogan?" Scott asked.

"Bayville, a nice quiet normal town," Todd read from a piece of paper. "I'm serious. That **was** the town slogan."

"Okay so this is a change that is long overdue," Scott sighed. "What have you got?"

"Our best one is this, Bayville: Where no one will shoot you for being different," Pyro read.

"That's a very good try," Scott said diplomatically. "We'll use that as a backup. Any more ideas?"

"Bayville: Mutant and Proud," Todd read the next one.

"Toad it's not just mutants who live here," Scott reminded. "We need something to appeal to the humans too."

"Oh well then Freddy's got a better one," Todd pointed. "Tell 'em yours Freddy!"

"Bayville, not just for mutants anymore," Fred read his.

"No…Not quite…" Scott sighed. "Next?"

"Bayville, down with giant evil death machines," Pyro said. "Let's burn them all to the ground! I wrote that one."

"It's a little long for a slogan," Scott said. "Anything else?"

"Bayville, America's biggest little disaster," Tabitha read.

"No," Scott sighed. "Next."

"Welcome to Freak Town?" Bobby asked.

"That's not exactly what we are looking for," Rocker said. "And it sounds a tad racist."

"Welcome to Bayville unless you're a scum sucking anti mutant bigot," Pyro said. "In that case go to Hell."

"Definitely worse than the other one and possibly even more racist," Scott said.

"That one we were just brainstorming at the beginning of the session," Pyro admitted.

"We didn't think that one would work out either," A large twenty year old fat mutant that looked a little like Fred but with brown hair spoke up. "But we threw it in anyway just in case."

"Uh huh and you are?" Scott blinked.

"Oh that's right. You haven't met. This is my younger cousin, Robert Bubba Dukes," Fred introduced. "RB for short. Guess what? He's a mutant too. Just discovered his powers a month ago and is moving to Bayville. As a civilian, not a Misfit. And get this; his powers are the same as mine! Can you believe that?"

"Two Blobs…What are the odds?" Scott winced.

"Oh my mutant name ain't Blob. It's Big Man," RB grinned.

"Gotta admit it fits," Logan blinked at the huge mutant.

"So much for the theory that no two mutants have the same powers," Tabitha grumbled. "Or the same IQ level."

"At least I'm smart enough not to get knocked up in a three way," RB gave her a look.

"Okay before this gets out of hand let's get back to work," Scott said quickly.

"What? You're just gonna let him…?" Tabitha snarled.

"Tabitha you had a zing and he had a zing," Todd said. "You're even. I'm with Summers. Let's move along."

"I got one," Pyro called out. "Bayville, home of the biggest fires!"

"No," Scott groaned.

"How about Welcome to Mutantown?" Pyro asked.

"No," Scott said.

"Welcome to Mutopia?" Pyro asked.

"That's just the same as the last one!" Scott snapped.

"Welcome to Mutant Land!" Pyro went on. "Home of the Happiest Mutants on Earth."

"No!" Scott snapped.

"Welcome to Bayville where we love to burn things!" Pyro kept going.

"Does **anyone **besides Pyro have a slogan?" Scott asked.

"Uh I got one," Fred raised his hand. "Bayville where the mutants and the nut jobs roam."

"Accurate but no," Rocker said. "Logan do you have any suggestions?"

"None that are PG rated," Logan said. "Go on…"

"Bayville, the mutants are still here, deal with it," Bobby said.

"No…" Scott groaned.

"Bayville, God give us a break!" Fred added.

"Try again," Scott sighed. "And again, and again…"

"Bayville, we could seriously use a tax break," Todd read.

"Who doesn't?" Logan asked. "Next!"

"Bayville, home of the Biggest Ball of Ear Wax in the world," Fred said cheerfully.

"Okay two problems with that slogan," Rocker said diplomatically. "One is that we don't have the biggest ball of Ear Wax in the world."

"Well we could if we…" Fred began.

"NO!" Rocker, Scott and Logan yelled.

"Boy try to put a town on the map," Fred grumbled.

"How about Bayville: Beware of Kitty Pryde's Cooking?" Todd read from a piece of paper. "Or Bayville: Warning, Kitty Pryde on the Road!"

"Those are from Alvers aren't they?" Scott gave Todd a look.

"Yeah I kind of promised him I'd bring them up," Todd nodded. "There's a third one but I don't think that's gonna fly."

"What is it? Let me guess, Summers Sucks?" Scott asked.

"No," Todd looked at the paper. "Bayville Home of Cyclops, the man with the world's biggest stick up his…"

"I get the picture!" Scott snapped. "Okay I have one! Bayville: The Home of Avalanche the biggest rock head in the world!"

"Uh excuse me!" A large rock mutant raised his hand.

"Oh sorry George," Scott said. "Didn't mean to offend you."

"Moving on I've got Bayville: It's safe to live here now," Bobby said.

"Close to what we want but not quite…" Rocker said diplomatically.

"Bayville! The Explosion Capital of the world!" Pyro said cheerfully.

"Not even close," Rocker said.

"Bayville: Home of the X-Men and the Misfits," Bobby went on. "The most infamous feud since the Hatfields and the McCoys."

"No offense but I think the last thing this town needs to emphasize is all the insanity you guys cause," Shirley spoke up.

"I agree," Rocker said. "Next!"

"How about Bayville: Home of the Most Personal Injury Lawsuits in America," Todd read.

"That's not true Toad," Scott said.

"It will be once we get some lawyers around here," George spoke up.

"Bayville: Welcome Alien Invaders. Prepare to get your butts kicked!" Pyro cheered.

"Don't give the universe any ideas Pyro!" Logan barked.

"Bayville: First in Mayhem, Second in Insanity," Bobby read.

"No!" Scott said.

"God make it stop!" Logan moaned.

"Bayville, we got a lot of explosions going on," RB added.

"Bayville, underwear thief free for three years!" Todd called out.

"Bayville Home of the Mutant Squirrels!" Shirley spoke up.

"No, no and **no way!"** Scott said. "Tabitha don't you have any ideas?"

"Well uh, I kind of liked that Mutopia one," Tabitha admitted. "And the one saying that no one would shoot us because we're different."

"Anybody **else?**" Scott addressed the room. "Come on! **Someone** here has to have some other idea other than these guys?"

One large mutant raised his hand. "Uh I don't have an idea. I just came here for the free donuts and to slack off."

"Me too," A female mutant admitted.

"Look anyone who is not genuinely interested in doing this or has any better ideas better leave!" Scott snapped.

"Okay you don't have to yell," The gray skinned teen grumbled as most of the mutants left the room.

"All I had was the mutant squirrel idea anyway," Shirley said.

Soon only RB, Fred, Todd, Tabitha, Pyro and Bobby were left in the room. "It's good those other guys left. More donuts for the rest of us!" Fred grinned.

"Not really?" Bobby pointed to Tabitha still scoffing down tabasco sauce covered donuts.

"Oh right. But still even without the donuts everyone here is a hundred and something percent committed to helping think up a slogan," Fred said proudly. "At least until lunchtime."

"That's what I thought," Scott hung his head down. "Continue."

"Bayville: Bring on the Babes, Bunnies and Booze!" RB said cheerfully.

"Bunnies?" Logan asked. "Are we talking Playboy Bunnies or…?"

"No! Regular bunnies! Get your mind out of the gutter," RB gave him a look.

"Why bunnies?" Scott asked.

"Why not bunnies? Bunnies are cute! Who doesn't like bunnies?" RB asked.

"No, forget that saying. Too confusing," Scott groaned.

"How about this one? Bayville: This place isn't as bad as you think it is," Bobby asked.

"No…" Scott moaned.

"Bayville: We're still here," Tabitha tried another one.

"Barely…" Scott groaned. "No."

"I've got one," Todd said. "Bayville, the Tripoli of America!"

"No!" Scott snapped.

"Bayville, this place could be a lot worse," Todd read another one.

"Worse than a hole in the ground and nearly everything completely destroyed?" Tabitha asked.

"Yeah. Henceforth my next slogan," Todd read. "Bayville, No giant killer robots here."

"Let's put that last one in the maybe pile," Scott sighed. "What else?"

"Bayville: It's not much but it's the best we could do," Fred spoke up.

"Bayville: We're not half as insane as people say we are," Pyro said.

"Bayville: Mess with us and we'll beat the crap out of you," Todd read.

"No, no and **God No!"** Scott shouted.

"Bayville: We really like fire," Pyro said.

"That's just **you** Pyro!" Scott snapped.

"Bayville: If ever a place was cursed, it's this one…" Bobby read.

"Well I have to give you credit for truth in advertising," Scott said. "But I'd seriously like to move away from any negative connotations. You know, curses, disasters…**fires!" **

"I'm starting to take that last statement rather personally," Pyro pouted.

"It **was **personal!" Scott snapped. "You're a loon!"

"Technically Pyro is not a loon," Fred spoke up. "Bonkers yes, loon no."

"What is the difference?" Tabitha gave him a look.

"I think to be a loon you have to have some kind of official certification," Fred scratched his head.

"Oh I am certified!" Pyro said.

"You certainly are…" Scott moaned. "Bobby you've been quiet. Tell me you have something else. **Anything **else."

"I would, but I would be lying," Bobby shrugged. "I'm here mostly for the easy work and donuts."

"Don't worry we have more slogans," Todd waved.

"That's what I was afraid of," Logan groaned.

"Bayville: Nothing normal here," Todd read another slogan.

"Again, credit for truth in advertising but…Not quite what we are looking for," Scott said. "I want something more inspirational!"

"What about something like The Future is now?" Logan asked.

"Checked. Some other town has that slogan," Rocker sighed. "Basically any saying with future in it has been taken."

"We thought maybe Bayville the Future of Evolution but uh…" Todd scratched his head.

"Yeah I see the problem with **that** one just looking around the room," Logan sighed.

"How about Bayville: No Future Here! Just The Present!" Bobby suggested.

"No," Scott moaned.

"Bayville: Fires are Fun!" Pyro said cheerfully.

"I disagree," Scott gave him a look. "No."

"Bayville: Death to Pineapples!" Pyro shouted.

"NO!" Scott snapped.

"How about this? Bayville: Peace, Hot Dogs and Booze!" RB asked.

"More inspirational than **that **Big Man," Scott groaned. "I can't believe this! The more we try to change things around here for the better the weirder it gets!"

"That's it! That's our slogan!" Todd spoke up.

"What?" Logan asked.

"The more things change the weirder it gets!" Todd nodded. "It's catchy. It's truthful."

"It's surprisingly accurate," Tabitha said.

"Okay. I've heard enough. We're not gonna get anything better are we?" Logan sighed.

"I'm afraid this is as good as it's gonna get," Tabitha shrugged. "Unless Cyke can think of something better…"

"Honestly I don't have a clue either," Scott said. "I was thinking something across the lines of hope or rebuilding."

"We did have something about hope," Todd read a slip of paper. "Bayville. Hope you don't die here."

"Bayville, rebuilding Crazy one day at a time!" Bobby added.

"Bayville hope there's more fires," Pyro said. "Okay I just made that one up."

"We gathered that," Logan sighed. "Cyclops…Make it stop!"

"Fine! And the winner is…" Scott sighed. "Bayville: The more things change the weirder it gets."

"**That's** our new slogan?" Logan asked.

"Can you think of a **better **one?" Scott snapped.

"How are we gonna pass **that** off?" Logan asked.

"I don't know! Maybe write it in Latin or something!" Rocker snapped. "It's just going to have to do until we get something better!"

"What is Latin for the more things change the weirder it gets?" Bobby asked.

"How should I know? I didn't take Latin in High School!" Scott snapped.

"I'll Google it," Todd went to a small laptop.

"Okay so what have we got?" Rogue walked in.

"Bayville: The more things change the weirder it gets," Scott groaned.

"Well it's accurate I'll give you that," Rogue sighed. "But seriously, this was the **best **you could come up with?"

"Can **you** think of anything better?" Scott snapped.

"Relax, we'll put the saying in Latin so it sounds good and no one will know the difference," Bobby waved.

"I don't think this is gonna work," Todd piped up. "Apparently there's no word for weirder in Latin. I got Quo renum mutatinem weirder it gets."

"Mutant is a word but not weird?" Fred blinked. "I don't get it."

"Try another web site Toad," Logan moaned.

"Well we can't put it in English! Bayville is barely skating by as a legitimate town as it is," Rocker groaned.

"Just do what we do in Canada and put it in French," Logan said. "Almost everything has to have a French translation there anyway…Well at least for half the country."

"This isn't Canada, Wolverine! That won't fly here!" Rocker said.

"Then put it in Spanish!" Logan snapped.

"Sure why not tick off the English as an Official Language Crowd even more!" Rocker snapped. "I'm serious. You'd be surprised how many mayors are secretly members of that club."

"I wouldn't mind it in Spanish," RB said.

"I know **you **wouldn't but a lot of lame brain politicians and loudmouth bigots looking for an easy platform would!" Rocker said. "And quite frankly this town is controversial enough without making more!"

"How about Italian?" Todd suggested.

"That is a lovely language," Fred remarked.

"Just put it in English in tiny print," Logan groaned. "Nobody reads those things anyway!"

"Okay I had to change a few words around," Todd said as he looked at the laptop. "Change weirder to stranger because it's the same thing and I found the basic form of gets…What I got was: Quatum res mutates extraneus imperto. I mean the tenses aren't right. It's not a perfect translation but it sounds good."

"Eh nobody but a Latin major will figure it out," Logan waved. "Sounds good to me."

"It's got mutant in it. It's good enough for me," Rocker agreed.

"What about Beast? He'll complain," Rogue pointed out.

"Again use small print," Logan waved.

"How about we put it in Latin first, then Spanish, then a few other languages..." Scott sighed.

"Including Italian?" Todd asked.

"Sure why not?" Scott said. "And then we'll put the English translation at the bottom with the smallest print?"

"Sounds good to me," Rocker sighed. "That way most people will be happy."

"Fine that's what we'll do!" Logan groaned. "Can we get out of here?"

"Not exactly," Rocker sighed. "Now we need to design a town seal. And no I don't mean an actual seal!" He glared at RB and the others.

"Darn. Cause I know a guy for that," RB shrugged.

"This town is so doomed," Rogue groaned.

"How about…?" Pyro thought. "A huge fire and on two sides rising from the flames two angels and in the middle a phoenix rising from the fire!"

"Actually that's pretty good," Scott blinked.

"I guess having flame on the brain does help every now and then," Logan said.

"And one of the angels will have six wings representing Aqua Seraphim and the other dragon wings representing Tetsukaeru!" Pyro grinned.

"Thanks Pyro," Todd blinked.

"What are you thanking **him **for?" RB asked.

"Uh…" Todd coughed.

"Thanking him for making this meeting shorter than it needs to be," Scott said quickly.

"Yeah that's good enough for me," Rogue nodded.

"I'm sold!" Logan shot up out of his seat. "Toad I need to see you about…Something." He grabbed Todd by the collar and dragged him out of the tent.

"And I think we need to talk to Pyro too just to be on the safe side," Fred grabbed Pyro and yanked him out of the tent.

"You know I think we all should be going," Scott got up.

"Yeah I'm feeling kind of tired. Need to get back. Right Bobby?" Tabitha glared.

"Oh yeah, busy, busy…" Bobby nodded. The X-Men left the tent.

"What was all that about?" RB blinked.

"Uh…nothing. Probably X-Man and Misfit stuff," Rocker sighed.

"Oh yeah. I hate to say this about my cousin and his friends but they're not up for this intellectual stuff as I am," RB smiled. Rocker just gave him a look.

"Rogue is right, we're all doomed," Rocker groaned.


	9. Interviews and Intergration

**Interviews And Integration**

"Seriously? We have to do this **now**?" Logan grumbled as he sat at a table in a tent with Scott, Rocker and Hank. "Of all the stuff we have to do to litterally rebuild a town from scratch we have to do this now?"

"Look we need to hire a sheriff for the town as well as at least one new X-Man," Scott said. "And the faster we do it the better."

"I would have thought that establishing law and order was something an X-Man would approve of," Rocker gave Logan a look.

"You're just gonna give someone a position as an X-Man from off the street?" Logan grunted.

"Sort of. This new member's job will be to do mostly paperwork for now," Scott said. "But we're not discounting any field experience."

"What field experience?" Logan asked.

"We've been at war with the humans for about a year," Rocker gave him a look. "I'm pretty sure most of the people in this town have **some** kind of experience."

"And we're doing both interviews together?" Hank asked.

"Saves time," Scott said. "Rocker will decide who gets the Sheriff position and we choose who becomes an X-Man. Besides there's not exactly a long line of people out there."

"What about the police force?" Hank realized.

"We got the Joes training some new recruits so they can eventually take over," Scott said. "For now both the X-Men and Misfits are keeping the peace along with the Joes."

"I take it some of the police force are former members of the MLF?" Logan looked at Rocker.

"Almost all of them are," Rocker shrugged. "But most of them don't want to be in charge."

"Oh great…" Logan grumbled. "This is not how I want to spend my afternoon."

"Logan as you have said many times security is your expertise," Hank pointed out. "And I'm here to help out as well."

"How?" Logan gave him a look.

"To check over the qualifications of the individual," Hank sighed. "Or as necessary give him or her medical treatment in case someone loses his temper."

"Is that a crack at me?" Logan snapped.

"If I pretend he was referring to me will you shut up and let us get on with it?" Rocker snapped. "Let's get this started now shall we? Toad will you bring in the first applicant?"

"I don't know what an applicant is but there's a bunch of guys out here looking for a job," Todd stuck his head into the tent.

"Why is **he **here?" Logan yelled.

"To annoy you," Hank said matter of factly.

"Hello!" Fred's Cousin Robert Bubba 'Big Man' Dukes walked in. (RB to his friends). He was wearing an ill-fitting brown suit and tie. "I'm RB 'Big Man' Dukes and I have brought my resume for the Sheriff's position."

"You?" Logan blinked. "What makes you think you are qualified to be sheriff?"

"Well I've got a gun permit and a resume!" RB gave them copies of a resume.

"You have a legal gun permit?" Scott asked.

"Legal-ish," Dukes shrugged as he stood in front of the others.

"Okay I'll play along. What qualifications would you bring to the job?" Scott asked.

"Well sir as you can see from my resume I have experience in leadership," RB smiled broadly. "I led my cub scout team to victory at the annual Cub Scout Jamboree when I was nine."

"According to this you did that by scaring off all the other teams and burned down their tents," Scott blinked.

"War is hell Sir," RB said. "And so are Cub Scout Jamborees."

"I see…" Scott winced. "Now you worked security for your mother's business when you were…twelve?"

"Well I was big for my age sir," RB said. "All us Duke boys get a real whopper of a growth spurt around that age."

"Both up and out," Logan grumbled under his breath.

"And what exactly was your mother's business?" Rocker asked.

"She ran a private club on the outskirts of town catering to a select clientele," RB said.

"And the name of this business?" Scott asked.

"Big Bertha's Bouncy House of Boobies," RB told him.

"I'm gonna take a stab at this and guess that your mother ran a strip club?" Scott groaned.

"It was a classy strip club," RB said. "Had very clean stage floors and mirrors and everything."

"Uh huh…" Hank grimaced as he looked at the resume. "And you worked there for five years?"

"Well yeah. Mom thought it would be best for me to get my work experience in a family run business," RB said. "I left when I was seventeen."

"Seventeen?" Hank said.

"Not for the reasons you would think a security guard would normally leave a strip joint," RB said. "Not because I was dating any of the talent. I mean most of 'em were either my sisters or my cousins. That would be weird."

"Quite," Hank blinked.

"And I didn't do any damage to the place if you don't count those fights that other people started," RB said. "No, it was just time for me to move on and spread my wings. You know? Find new experiences and expand my options."

"And when did you decide that?" Rocker asked.

"When the FBI raided the joint, the local mob boss burned down the place and Ma high tailed it to Mexico with that mob boss's brother and half of his money," RB explained.

"That would be a good indicator to find another job," Hank sighed. "So according to this your next job was working in a bakery for six months."

"Yes sir! I baked bread, cakes and it was my job to kill the rats," RB said proudly. "And boy did I kill a lot of those suckers."

"I see…" Scott winced. "And you left this job because…?"

"The bakery closed down," RB said.

"Big surprise," Logan said sarcastically. "I wonder why?"

"I wasn't eating all the cakes if that is what you were implying!" RB huffed. "It closed because my boss tried to set the health inspector on fire and accidentally burned down the building."

"Okay let's just skip over your background for now," Scott said diplomatically. "Obviously you have had some experience in high pressure situations."

"Especially those two weeks I worked security for that Mafia Drag Queen Pageant in that Mexican prison," RB nodded. "Oh I wasn't a prisoner. I just ran over the border for a job for a few weeks while…"

"I don't want to hear about that…" Rocker held up his hand. "In fact I think we've all heard all we need to hear. Any questions?"

"Uh yes, just so I get this straight in my mind…" RB waved. "Hemp is illegal in this state right? Because I have this cousin who has this side business…"

"NEXT!" Logan yelled.

"We'll get in touch…" Scott said diplomatically. RB nodded and walked out of the tent. "If we're desperate enough."

A dark haired man with a black beard, black T-shirt and jeans with sneakers staggered into the room. "Hello…" He hiccupped. "Is this where we get the free booze?"

"No, this is the interview for the Sheriff's position for Bayville," Scott winced at the stench of alcohol from the man.

"Oh right. I wanted to do that too," The man staggered in. "I would like to apply for the position of Peace of Chill-ef. I mean the Police of the Chief. The guy in charge of the guns."

"Uh huh…" Scott kept a straight face. "And your name is…?"

"My name…That is a very good question…" The man blinked. "Oh of course I know what my name is! I know it!"

"So what **is** it?" Logan asked impatiently.

"Jeff…something or other," The man waved. "I know my powers have something to do with heat. No matter how hot things get, I can't feel the burn. Nor can I get hurt by fire. _Fire…Oh baby…Fire…"_ He started to sing. "Thank you Cleveland! I hope I passed the audition!"

"You know what? I've heard **enough,"** Logan got up and grabbed Jeff. "Don't call us! We'll call you!" He shoved him out of the tent.

"Ow…" Jeff moaned. "I've fallen and I can't get up!"

"Toad, do us all a favor and screen the line for drunks!" Logan snarled.

"Okay but that's gonna cut out half the line here," Todd told him.

"Fine! Whatever! Do it! In fact, better yet…" Logan stormed out of the tent. There were sounds of scuffles and incomprehensive yelling.

"And **stay out** you booze hounds!" Logan snapped as he stormed back in. "Well we got about three more candidates left for Sherriff. NEXT!"

"I think I might need a free drink after this round of interviews," Rocker groaned.

"Hey there," A dark haired well-built young man in a black suit, white shirt with no tie and some gold chains walked in. "Howya doin'? Lonnie 'Stretch' Derossi at your service. But call me Stretch cause of this…"

He stretched his arm about a couple of feet. "And that's not the only body part I can make bigger. Whoa!" Stretch smirked.

"Great we're interviewing rejects from the Jersey Shore," Logan groaned.

"How'd you know I was from Jersey?" Stretch spoke in an obvious Jersey accent.

"Lucky guess," Logan sighed.

"Okay so why are you interested in being sheriff?" Rocker asked.

"Why wouldn't I be interested? You got the car with the sirens. You got the guns. You got the unlimited access to stuff in the evidence room," Stretch counted on his fingers. "Plus it would be a nice change of pace for me to be on the **other** side of the law."

"Have you ever been arrested?" Hank asked.

"Nope. That's cause I've never been caught," Stretch nodded. "By the way this job gets nights and weekends off right? Because I got a lot of hot dates at night."

"Well let's not **keep** you from them!" Logan got up and grabbed Stretch.

"Hey! Wait a minute! I'm not done here!" Stretch protested.

"Yes you are!" Logan barked and threw him out of the tent. "NEXT!"

"So much for **that** applicant," Rocker groaned.

"Is it just me or was that guy **worse **than Dukes?" Scott moaned.

"It wasn't just you," Hank sighed. "Logan I don't suppose you would be willing to take over the mantle of sheriff for…?"

"Not even if you paid me a billion dollars a day, gave me season tickets to every hockey game in all existence and a date with Jenifer Aniston," Logan snapped as he returned to his seat.

"It was worth a shot," Hank sighed. "Next!"

"Hello!" Shirley, the pink furred mutant walked in wearing a pink dress and pink shoes. "I'm here to apply for the Sherriff's position!"

"Oh God…" Logan moaned.

"Have a seat," Hank motioned. "Shirley…uh…"

"Shirley Pinkerton," Shirley said as she sat down. "I know. Ironic name considering my mutation."

"Okay so why do you want to become sheriff of our town?" Rocker asked.

"Well I need a job so I can make some money," Shirley said. "Plus with this job I can carry a gun and get paid for it. I've never been able to bring my gun to work. Well not legally anyway…"

"Oh boy…" Logan put his head in his hands.

"Now Shirley, this is a position of great responsibility," Rocker said delicately.

"Oh that's good," Shirley nodded. "At my last job whenever anything went wrong they said I was the one responsible."

"And what was your last job if I may ask?" Hank sighed.

"Well before I sprouted a ton of pink fur due to the Legacy Virus and turned into a living plush doll I was the head accountant at Fannie Mac and later at AIG," Shirley said proudly.

"Uh huh…" Logan said. "And another piece of the puzzle is found."

"But after I was let go for…Shedding pink fur all over the office," Shirley said diplomatically. "I was able to find work at a local no kill animal shelter slash dog grooming salon. That's kind of how I was able to hide from the Mardies all this time. Most people either thought I was either wearing a costume as a promotion or one of the animals. Did I mention I have the power to turn into a pink cat?"

"No, you didn't," Hank sighed.

"And I'm guessing that's around the same time you started mutating squirrels and such?" Scott groaned.

"Only for their own self-defense," Shirley said. "Amateur genetics was always a hobby of mine ever since I was a little girl. But my parents made me become an accountant because they said it would be a more lucrative career. Well that and the 4-H Club lawsuit when I was thirteen. I kind of made a two headed cow for the county fair and it kind of got out of control."

"I've heard **enough**. To be honest I'm not sure if this job is the right fit for you," Scott said diplomatically. "Maybe you might enjoy something to do with the animal control industry?"

"Ooh, that does sound better!" Shirley grinned. "I sure could get into making all those cute little animals do tricks and my bidding! Like getting back at my ex-boyfriend!"

"No, control as in catching wild animals and keeping the population of mutated animals down," Logan was getting a headache.

"You don't mean kill them do you?" Shirley asked. "I mean it's one thing to kill a person but it's another thing to kill a helpless little critter."

"Yeah I can understand **that** logic," Logan sighed. "How about just taking care of the animals and cleaning up after them. Finding them homes?"

"Ooh that **does** sound like fun!" Shirley brightened.

"No genetic engineering!" Hank barked.

"Awww, but I still get to groom and name them right?" Shirley asked.

"Yeah fine, whatever," Logan groaned. "Just don't make them breathe fire or fly or whatever else you've done in the past!"

"Okay!" Shirley got up. "So what do I do now?"

"Go find some people who want to work taking care of animals and meet me at my tent tomorrow afternoon," Rocker sighed. "Around 4 in the afternoon. That's when I usually start drinking anyway."

"Okey-Dokey! See you!" Shirley twittered as she left the tent.

"Are all the mutants left after M-Day either stupid or psychotic?" Logan asked.

"Or in Shirley's case, both," Rocker groaned.

"The candidates for the head of law enforcement in Bayville aren't exactly the stellar pillars of the community we've hoped for," Hank sighed.

"Does it have to be a mutant?" Logan asked. "Maybe we can get one of the Joes to…"

"Look we need a mutant sheriff in this town so other mutants won't feel so persecuted," Rocker said. "We can have some human cops, administrative officials and what not but we need to have a mutant sheriff. End of story."

"What about one of the Misfits?" Hank asked nervously. "I'm sure one of them wouldn't mind…"

"Already asked, they said no," Rocker sighed. "How do you think RB heard about this?"

"Blob recommended his cousin?" Hank asked. "Stupid question…"

"Actually he recommended **two** of his cousins but since one of them is currently serving a year for aggravated assault with a skunk…" Rocker sighed.

"Next!" Logan yelled. "Next! Somebody! **Anybody** next!"

Then a familiar face teleported in. "Hidey Ho Neighborinos!" Deadpool waved happily. "Your new sheriff is here!"

**"NO!"** Logan, Hank, Scott and Rocker all yelled at the same time.

"Aw come on! It's the perfect setup! Get this! A show about your average ordinary Merc with a Mouth becoming sheriff of a town full of mutants!" Deadpool said cheerfully. "Think Eureka meets X-Men! Which is what it practically is only with less science and more exploding body parts!"

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Logan shot out his claws.

"Aw come on Logan! We can sell it to HBO, add some sex and nudity and make millions!" Deadpool quipped. "Maybe win an Emmy!"

"The only thing you are going to win is a one way ticket to a holding facility!" Scott shouted as he stood up and prepared to fire his optic blasts.

"Can it be a holding facility in Hawaii?" Deadpool asked. "Oh click! Just thought of an idea! Let's move the entire town to Hawaii!"

"GET OUT OF HERE YOU MANIAC!" Logan jumped over the desk and attacked him.

"It doesn't have to be Hawaii," Deadpool leapt out of range of Logan's claws. "How about Florida! Hey! Great crossover idea! X-Men meet the Golden Girls! Oh wait…Make that Golden Girl…"

"Somebody blast this nut job before I get a headache!" Logan snarled.

"Okay you need to think about this," Deadpool leapt out of the way of his next attack. "How about I give you a few days to sleep on it? Let's do lunch!"

"How about a funeral brunch? YOURS!" Logan leapt at him. Deadpool teleported away using his device. Logan fell to the ground. "Why that little…"

"Forget it Wolverine," Scott sighed. "Let it go."

"Should have known that maniac wouldn't miss any opportunity to mess with us," Logan grumbled. "Great! As if we didn't have enough problems!"

"Just be grateful he decided to leave," Scott told him.

"Deadpool leaving is not the problem. It's him coming back that's the problem," Logan growled.

"Let's press on," Rocker sighed. "Toad send in the next candidate."

"There aren't any more," Todd poked his head in. "The rest left earlier when Shirley let loose one of her laser shooting squirrels into the group."

"Well that's one way to get rid of the competition," Logan groaned.

"That can't be **all **of them?" Hank groaned.

"I'm afraid so," Rocker sighed. "Well I've picked my Sheriff. I'm going with Dukes."

"Why **him?"** Logan asked.

"He was the only one who brought in a resume and had a legal permit to carry a gun," Rocker sighed. "Well legal-ish. But still…"

"Can't argue with that logic," Hank sighed.

"Oh crap we **are **desperate enough!" Scott groaned.

"Besides it might not be a bad idea to have some connections with the Misfits and the military in the near future," Rocker said.

"I'm afraid it won't be as easy to pick out a new X-Man," Logan moaned.

"Maybe not as hard as you think," Scott said. "Berserker recommended a couple of people."

"Yeah but there's only one person out here," Todd told them. He had stuck his head into the tent.

"The others probably got scared off from the squirrels," Scott groaned. "Okay send him in."

"Uh, he is a **she,**" A young girl about sixteen years old with short black punk hair with a green streak on her right side walked in. She had her nose pierced with a stud and two earring holes with silver loops in each ear. She wore a black T-Shirt, black leggings and a green and black jacket with green boots and silver bracelets on her wrists. She was carrying a black and green laptop bag with her.

"Techna? You want to join the X-Men?" Rocker asked.

"What can I say? I love a challenge and Berserker told me being an X-Man would be one," Techna shrugged.

"You know her?" Scott asked.

"Techna is one of my best mutants. She's the best technopath I've ever met," Rocker said.

"She was on the A Squad in the MLF wasn't she?" Logan put it together.

"Bingo," Techna sat down. "I'm not just good. I'm the best."

"What's your real name?" Scott asked.

"Techna **is** my real name," Techna told him. "Legally."

"Legally?" Rocker raised his eyebrow.

"Legal-ish," Techna shrugged.

"I can handle legal-ish," Logan shrugged. "So you're a technopath huh? That means you're good with computers."

"I can also do **this**," Techna concentrated as she took her laptop out. "Watch the screen."

"What are we looking at here?" Scott asked.

"These are the bank accounts and credit card accounts of seventeen wanted former members of the MRD," Techna said. "You know some of the worst offenders that abused their power?"

"These are some of the guys we've been charged with tracking down because they didn't just torture and kill mutants, they killed a lot of humans too," Scott realized.

"Not to mention running everything from drug rings, to weapon dealing and in some cases forcing both humans and mutants into prostitution," Rocker nodded.

"Well here are all their bank accounts including some secret ones overseas," Techna smirked. "And now there's nothing left in them but twenty dollars. The money has now been transferred to the Danko Foundation for Gifted Children."

"Danko Foundation?" Logan asked.

"That's my last name," Rocker explained. "This will help fund the town."

"Yeah but why leave only twenty dollars? Why not clean them out completely?" Logan asked.

"Evidence reasons. Easier for the prosecution," Techna said. "And it looks like two of them are now using their credit cards in two different states. I am now alerting the local authorities for a warrant. And I am stalling those two by creating a need for a credit check. Those take forever. And bringing up the security cameras on three…Two…"

"You can hack into security camera feeds from other states?" Scott was stunned.

"Please. Almost everything is connected by a global network if you know where to look," Techna waved. "As you can see they aren't happy and are pretty upset about the credit check. Oh look here comes security for one. And the other one is having an argument with another customer in line…Uh oh…"

"Oooh, that's a good right hook for an elderly woman," Logan winced.

"That's a good right hook for Mike Tyson," Scott remarked.

"Ah security has arrived for both men. And they are being taken into custody as we speak," Techna smirked. "FYI for some strange reason along with the original charges both men will be charged with light treason, animal cruelty and theft of over two hundred pairs of women's shoes."

"Okay I'm convinced. Let's hire her," Hank said.

"You're hired," Scott said.

"I was wrong. That was easy," Logan blinked.

"Oh yeah **that **was easy," Rocker grumbled.

"Hey guys there's some people here who wanna talk to you," Todd walked in with four familiar figures. The surviving members of the X-Shadow's B Team. They were the younger less powerful and less aggressive genetic clones of several other mutants. Even though they were less than three years old, they appeared to be teenagers.

Sparkle who looked like a sixteen year old Chinese American girl with black and white hair was the combination of Jubilee, Ray and Pietro. Her powers were speed and electric energy bursts. She wore a black and white body suit with black boots. Next to her was the only male in the group, Shifter. A blue skinned red haired blue eyed teenage boy wearing black pants and boots, a white shirt with a black jacket. He was the combination of the DNA of Mystique, Kitty and Remy but his only powers were shape shifting.

Behind them came the two winged females, Blue Sky and Snow Wing. Blue Sky also had medium length red hair and blue skin with blue and white wings since she was the combination of both Mystique and Warren. Her only power was flight. She wore a blue and white bodysuit with blue boots.

On contrast Snow Wing was the combination of both Warren and Bobby and not only could her pure white wings fly, she had the same ice manipulation and creation abilities as Bobby. She looked like a younger female version of Warren. Her uniform was red and white with red boots, similar to Warren's old costume but without the mask and her midriff was exposed.

"What are you four doing here?" Logan growled.

"Easy Wolverine," Scott cautioned. "They left Magneto remember?"

"We were wondering if we could join the X-Men," Shifter said nervously.

"You want to join the X-Men?" Scott blinked. "Why?"

"With most of the other X-Shadows gone you guys are all the family we have," Sparkle absently tossed her black and white hair. "Technically."

"We left Magneto for a reason. We wanted a change from our lives," Shifter said. "You have to understand we were created and born on Avalon. We didn't know anything other than what we were taught. That humans would never accept mutants."

"And then M-Day happened," Sparkle added. "And we saw humans willing to work with mutants. Willing to risk their lives for us. Made us think…And we realized that our place wasn't with Magneto on Genosha."

"Most of us weren't considered strong enough to be part of his elite team anyway," Blue Sky said sadly. "That our powers were weak and so were we."

"More like we weren't bloodthirsty enough for him," Shifter muttered.

"What about Sun Speed?" Logan realized something. "She was one of your group too wasn't she?"

"She didn't want to be an X-Man," Snow Wing said. "Said she had better options. Didn't ask."

"I know you guys don't trust us and I can't say we blame you," Sparkle said. "We just want a chance to prove ourselves and find a home."

"Well it is hardly the first time we have allowed former enemies to become allies," Hank thought.

"Hell if you guys can accept Frost after all the crap she's pulled on you over the years into the X-Men I don't see why you'd have any trouble with them," Rocker said. "If you don't mind me saying so."

"Man has a point," Logan admitted. "Hell nothing you guys did was half as bad as some of the things Frost has done."

"Even the Misfits have done worse than they did and we get along with them," Hank added. "Sometimes."

"We didn't even fight these guys as much as the others," Logan added.

"Let's call a meeting with the other X-Men," Scott nodded. "We can discuss this. Rocker I will leave it to you to tell RB the good news."

"Oh goody," Rocker groaned. "What fun."

"And you get to help Shirley put together her animal control department," Logan said. "Which quite frankly we need. Those damn laser eye squirrels are getting smarter. Even Penny is having a hard time catching them."

"Well nobody can say this day was not productive," Hank smirked as the X-Men and their new recruits left the tent. "See you Rocker."

"Great…" Rocker sighed. "Now I need to make an appointment with a bottle of scotch."

Twenty minutes later…

"Okay so what's **this **meeting all about?" Bobby asked as the majority of X-Men assembled in another large tent on the grounds of the future new and improved Xavier institute.

"I hope it's about those stupid laser eye squirrels," Kitty fumed. She pointed to her slightly singed ponytail. "One of those damn things was trying to eat my lunch."

"Why didn't you let it?" Bobby asked. "I mean if you made it odds are it would have been poisoned anyway."

"Very funny Bobby," Kitty glared at him.

"I'm serious!" Bobby said. "Make some muffins. I hope they break their teeth on them."

"Personally I find the flying cats a bit more annoying," Rogue grumbled. "I swear one of them tried to use me as a litter box on purpose! It was a good thing I saw its shadow and jumped out of the way!"

"Speaking of annoying," Emma remarked as the new recruits entered with Scott and his team. "What are **they **doing here?"

"Okay listen up, we have some news," Scott called out. "First of all a new sheriff has been picked."

"It's not Shirley is it?" Kitty moaned. "Please say no."

"It wasn't Shirley," Hank said. "She's taken up the post of Head of Animal Control."

"Makes sense because it's mostly her fault we got these super powered fur balls running around," Rogue grumbled. "So who did get the job?"

"An individual named RB…Better known as Big Man," Hank said diplomatically.

"Blob's **cousin?"** Kurt perked up his ears. "Seriously?"

"Couldn't you get anyone else?" Bobby groaned.

"Don't think we didn't try," Logan groaned.

"As long as it's not Shirley I'm happy," Rogue shrugged. "So what's with the former members of the X-Shadow's B Team doing here?"

"As you know we are looking for new X-Men to help us in the future," Scott began.

"And you picked **them?**" Rogue was surprised. "These four and…Who are you?" She noticed Techna.

"Techna. I'm not with the X-Shadows," Techna said. "I interviewed for the position."

"Techna was a member of the MLF and is a skilled technopath," Scott said. "Berserker recommended her for the position. And Rocker speaks highly of her."

"We need **somebody** with computer skills to help me out," Kitty groaned. She pointed to her laptop. "I'm swamped with request orders, background checks, information retrieval…You name it!"

"Trust me. I got this," Techna waved. "Do you mind?"

"Help yourself," Kitty pointed to the laptop. "My main thing is the data entry on all supplies for not only the Institute, but the town of Bayville. Calculating costs of materials, time and…"

"Done," Techna waved.

Kitty looked at the screen twice. "It is done! How did you **do** that?"

"Did I mention I also have an eidetic memory and the ability to do any math problem in seconds inside my mind?" Techna smirked. "To be fair you already did most of the work. I just moved stuff around so it made sense."

"I'm convinced. She's in," Kitty said. "Can you help me with the cost projection files and looking up some background information of former members of the MRD?"

"Shadowcat, not only can I help you with that, I can get you the credit card numbers of the former members of the MRD, the bank account numbers and their private cell phone numbers within a few hours," Techna smirked. "Then again odds are we already have most of them in the MLF files."

"Okay she's in but what about **them**?" Rogue looked at the former members of X-Shadows, particularly Shifter and Blue Sky. Blue Sky noticed the attention and seemed to wince a little.

"Rogue let them talk," Kurt said gently.

"Uh you do know that these guys are Magneto's clone army right?" Rogue snapped.

"Technically we're not really clones since we are made up of the DNA of many mutants instead of one," Sparkle gave her a look. "And we're not with Magneto anymore!"

"Why not? Why did you guys leave?" Kurt asked.

"You know we were created to be soldiers of Avalon," Sparkle said. "But when Avalon fell…And most of our team was killed. Well we didn't seem to have a purpose anymore."

"Plus things weren't exactly great before that happened," Blue Sky admitted.

"What do you mean by not great?" Sam asked.

"It was drilled into us from birth that humans were the enemy and not to be trusted and all that stuff," Shifter said. "But we watched a lot of news programs and even when Magneto and Phoenix tried to censor them we could tell that there were humans that didn't hate us. We were having doubts and it didn't help the fact that our powers were considered weaker than the others."

"It's not that our powers were weaker, **we** were," Blue Sky grumbled. "It became obvious that we weren't as bloodthirsty as the Alpha team."

"We just needed a change," Snow Wing said. "Something else to do with our lives."

"Really?" Rogue wasn't convinced. "I don't know…"

"Oh yeah like this is the **first time** we let someone with altered DNA into our group," Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Or someone who used to fight against us," Bobby added. "Wait a minute did we fight against these guys?"

"Once with the whole Stryker thing," Kitty said. "Before Kelly mutated and turned into a puddle."

"What?" Snow Wing blinked.

"Kitty!" Rogue snapped.

"Yeah ix-nay on the ecret-say," Bobby added. "And you guys think **I **talk too much?"

"What was all that about?" Shifter asked.

"Nothing, it's not important," Scott glossed over. "Look the bottom line is that we could use new recruits. I'm not saying we tell them all our **secrets**…" Scott glared at Kitty. "But it's worth a trial period."

"Too many mutants died on M-Day," Ororo spoke. "And we could use the help."

"I don't know," Rogue glared at Shifter. "I'm not so sure it's **their **help we need."

"Geeze I know we used to be on opposite sides but what did we ever do to **you?**" Sparkle gave Rogue a look back. "We heard you used to work for Magneto's Brotherhood a long time ago. Why can't you give us the same chance?"

"It's not exactly **you** Sparkle that Rogue has reservations about," Emma pointed to Shifter and Blue Sky. "I can admit that their resemblance to Mystique is a bit unnerving. Lord knows I've had enough of that woman to last me a lifetime."

"You know I also happen to look like our **loving mother** but we are two very different people," Kurt said.

"That's different. I got to know you before…" Rogue began and stopped. She couldn't figure out how to end that sentence.

"Well maybe you should get to know **us**?" Shifter asked without bitterness or anger.

"If you don't mind I'd like to say something," Techna spoke first. "I'm not the first to claim my past is perfect. I've done things during the war I had to do and a lot of them I don't regret. If you're looking for perfect mutants with perfect pasts I don't think you're gonna get too many."

"Newbie's right," Logan admitted. "All of us have done stuff in our pasts so we can't judge 'em on that. What matters is now and if they're up to the task. I say give 'em a chance. Hell they survived M-Day so they got some luck as well as skill. And we need all we can get."

"**You're **the one who wants to give them a chance? You're usually the guy we have to convince to give people a chance," Bobby remarked. "I mean no offense Wolverine, but you ain't exactly the most trusting individual out there."

"And there's a **reason** for that Popsicle," Logan gave him a look. "But I can also usually tell when someone is lying. And I don't think all four of them are that good at it."

"Please Rogue," Kurt said. "Give them a chance."

"Come on Rogue. They can't be any worse than the Misfits," Kitty said. "And we get along with them. Most of the time."

"Well you guys are family," Rogue let out a breath and looked at Shifter and Blue Sky. "Technically. I mean you may have Mystique's looks and DNA but I can tell by your eyes you ain't anything like her in personality. As far as I know anyway. I guess I could…try."

"That's all we want," Shifter said. "Just a chance to prove ourselves and be useful."

"Yeah well just don't expect any singing and hand holding right away okay?" Rogue grumbled.

"Don't worry. Rogue's not so bad once you get used to her," Sam smirked at the newcomers.

"It would be nice to have another brother and sister working with the team," Kurt beamed.

"I guess that would go for you too," Bobby said to Snow Wing. "Oh wait…Are you my daughter?"

"That would mean she's not only your daughter but Angel's too," Kitty gave him a look.

"Okay, I'm gonna stick with sister because I do not want **that **mental picture in my head!" Bobby winced. "Oh wait…Too late!"

"Yeah that's just weird…" Snow Wing winced.

"At least there's one sister I have that doesn't hate me," Bobby sighed.

"Oh right I heard about…" Snow Wing stopped. "Look I don't want to be anybody's replacement."

"None of us do," Sparkle said. "We may be clones but…"

"I never liked that term clone," Shifter winced. "I prefer…genetic twin."

"You aren't that either because you are all combinations of different mutants instead of being a direct copy of one mutant," Laura spoke. "On the other hand it is nice to know there are others on this team that was created in a lab like I was."

"Look we've all been through so much that we just don't have the time or the energy for petty bickering among ourselves," Alex spoke up. "As far as I'm concerned all that matters is that we work together for the future. I've lost enough friends and family. I want to embrace the ones I have left."

"I think we all agree that all five of you will be welcome additions to the X-Men," Ororo smiled warmly.

"We've been discussing creating a secondary team to help protect and run things at the Institute," Scott nodded. "Not to mention help police the town. Havok I want you to run this division for now."

"I was thinking Cannonball would be my second in command for our new X-Team," Alex said. "If you don't mind bro."

"No. It's a good choice," Scott agreed.

"We're not gonna call this team X-Force are we?" Sam winced.

"Uh…We'll think of a name later," Alex blinked.

"And you want us to be part of the new team, am I right?" Techna asked.

"That would help us," Scott said. "And help you integrate with the X-Men."

"Who else is going to be part of the team?" Sam asked.

"We talked to Maverick and he and his daughter Christy are going to be part of the new team," Scott said. "Right now they're on patrol on the West Wall."

"Maverick's a good choice," Sam said. "He's got experience and Christy has a lot of power."

"Eventually we'd like to move Maverick to lead another team when our ranks get bigger," Logan said. "Some kind of international team. But we also talked to Psylocke and when she gets back from England she'll be your telepath."

"And we thought we'd round out the team using Husk and Wolfsbane," Scott finished. "When they get back from…"

"WHOO HOOOOOO!"

Something sped around the room fast, blowing papers and creating wind everywhere. "QUICKSILVER!" Kitty yelled.

"Not Quicksilver," Logan gritted his teeth.

"I win! I win!" Sun Speed cackled as she came to a stop.

"No fair! You cheated!" Pietro ran in. "You deliberately set up all those mirrors around the course!"

"Face it Quicksilver, not only am I beautiful, I'm fast!" Sun Speed posed.

"Oh God no…" Rogue moaned.

Sun Speed was the combination of both Pietro and Sunspot, yet she was female. Her powers were super speed and solar absorption that could make her shoot out solar beams from her fists to some extent. She had pale skin and blue eyes like Pietro, but her short stylish hair was black. She wore a silver and black uniform with black and silver boots.

"What are you doing here?" Scott snapped. "And I mean the **both **of you!"

"Sun Speed and Dragoness are part of the Misfits," Lance explained as the rest of the Misfits entered the tent. He indicated the Japanese/Mexican American young woman with messy black hair, several piercings on her ears and nose who wore a white mesh top with a dark green jacket, brown boots and camouflage pants.

"Dragoness…AKA Tamara Kantz," Hank realized. "You emit energy from your body that resembles and takes the properties of fire. You were a member of the MLF."

"I'm also a martial artist, got a bartender's license and enjoy Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain," Dragoness smirked. "Just call me Dragoness. Everybody does."

"Bartender's license huh?" Logan remarked. "No secret why Shipwreck wanted **you** on the team!"

"And I thought **Willow **was going to be a headache," Rogue grumbled under her breath. Willow walked into the tent. "Speak of the devil…"

Willow now had a new outfit that was just as revealing. She simply wore a green bra that barely covered her ample cleavage, a pair of brown leggings that showed her legs due to a slit on each side. She wore brown boots with a small heel and her long green hair had a small braid with feathers in it. She carried a brown wooden staff that was clearly once part of an oak tree.

"I'm the best! I'm the best!" Sun Speed danced around.

"Are not! Are not!" Pietro snapped.

"Are too! Are too!" Sun Speed chanted.

"**Two **of them on **your** team?" Scott smirked.

"What are you smiling about?" Lance snapped.

"**You know** what I'm smiling about," Scott snickered.

"Shifter, Sky Wing, I apologize for being a little hostile to you," Rogue said to the new members of the X-Men. She glared at Pietro, Sun Speed and Willow. "There are clearly **worse mutants **running around like maniacs that I gotta worry about!"

"O-Kay I get why Quicksilver and Sun Speed annoy you," Sky Wing blinked. "That's a given. But why Willow?"

"It's the skin thing," Kitty overheard their conversation. "I mean look at her. She barely wears anything at all and Rogue has to cover up all the time…"

"That's **not** the reason why…" Rogue bristled.

"Oh please. Even I don't need my telepathy to see that's most of the reason why you dislike her," Emma rolled her eyes. "Just because the girl is confident in her sexuality you have a problem with her."

"Confidence is one thing," Rogue said. "It's her showing her bazongas off all the time I got a problem with."

"Yeah Rogue isn't exactly alone on this issue," Kitty admitted. "The over hyped sex thing that makes the guys drool like brain dead vegetables. Like my stupid ex-boyfriend!"

"And your **current** boyfriend," Emma smirked as she pointed to Peter. Peter was trying not to look at Willow's outfit but he clearly was interested in it.

"Grrrrr…" Kitty gritted her teeth.

"You definitely spend **way** more time with Wolverine than is healthy for you," Emma gave her a look. Then she looked at Shifter. "You don't seem interested in her at all. Why? Are you gay?"

"Emma!" Rogue said.

"Uh yeah I think I am," Shifter admitted. "Not that I have had a lot of time to figure it out but…I know what I don't like. And I don't like **that!**" He gestured to Willow. "Well I don't mean her as a person just…you know?"

"Well if you don't like **that **you are definitely gay," Emma snorted. "I can understand poor Willow's problem. Women like us are often misunderstood by members of our own gender."

"No, we understand **you** perfectly well," Rogue gave her a look.

"There's an entirely **different** set of reasons why we don't like you," Kitty added.

"Race you again!" Pietro snapped.

"You're on!" Sun Speed laughed.

As they were about to run, both slipped on two patches of ice that appeared right in front of them. "WHOAAAAAH!" They both yelled and crashed into the side of the tent. And the tent collapsed on top of the group.

"Bobby!" Kitty yelled as the entire group fumbled their way out of the tent.

"Snow Wing!" Sparkle yelled angrily.

"Nice!" Bobby whooped. "High five!" He high fived Snow Wing. "Snowy I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

"This is gonna be fun!" Snow Wing laughed.

"So you got **two **of them on **your** team," Lance smirked.

"What are you smiling about?" Scott snapped.

"**You know** what I'm smiling about," Lance snickered.

"Yeah this is gonna work," Logan moaned.


	10. Speak Up And Be Heard

**Speak Up And Be Heard **

"It feels weird just driving in a regular car," Scott remarked as he drove a simple black car with tinted windows. He was wearing a dark suit and red tie. "I feel like I'm naked without my uniform on."

"Scott we need to present a human look to the United Nations," Ororo said. She was wearing a very stylish white and black dress and her hair was up. "It isn't every day you get invited to speak at the United Nations. I'm glad you chose me to come with you."

"Well who else would I bring? Wolverine?" Scott gave her a look.

"Point taken," Ororo smirked. "This is a very important day for us. This Anti Sentinel Amendment will help mutant kind greatly."

"If everybody decides to go along with a piece of legislation banning the production of and keeping Sentinels in every country in the world. Hopefully **this **meeting will go better than the one in Bayville a couple of days ago," Scott groaned.

"Considering the damage the Sentinels did all over the world I think many leaders might be more receptive than you think," Ororo told him. "After M-Day people are more scared of Sentinels than mutants."

"I'd like to think so but…" Scott sighed. "You know as well as I do that many people still hate us. They hated us enough to send Sentinels after us. And hate like that never goes away overnight."

"That is why we have to stand up to them and convince them that we are not their enemy," Ororo said.

"I know. But some people we will never convince no matter how hard we try," Scott told her.

"As long as we keep trying," Ororo told Scott. "We're still here Scott. We must be doing something right."

"For a change," Scott smirked.

They parked the car a short distance away and started walking to the United Nations. There was already a large crowd of protestors chanting. "More anti-mutant protestors?" Scott groaned.

"No they are protesting **something else**!" Ororo pointed. "And look who is leading the charge!"

"I don't believe it…" Scott was stunned. "What is **he** doing here?"

"Down with the metal monstrosities! Support the Anti-Sentinel Amendment!" The Kingpin spoke loudly to the crowd and throngs of media. Many of his supporters standing behind him clapped wildly. "End this tyranny of technology! Let people choose our own fate! We are the ones meant to rule the Earth! Not overgrown toasters! My friends we must support this bill or else humanity is doomed! These machines are ten times the threat of any mutant!"

Several people in the audience agreed, even though some of them did so grudgingly. "If we allow any country to build and keep Sentinels, the tragedy known as M-Day will happen again and again and again! And humanity will pay the price for its greed and arrogance!" The Kingpin spoke. "That is why I have been tirelessly campaigning for the Anti-Sentinel Amendment! I want to live in a free peaceful world! Not some ridiculous Terminator rip off!"

"I can't believe he's gotten so many people to protest for the amendment," Ororo was surprised. "I see a few Hollywood A-listers as well as politicians with him."

"Most people don't know Wilson Fisk is the Kingpin," Scott told her. "Even SHIELD won't willingly expose him because it's rumored that he's got some pretty good proof on their dirty dealings over the years. Not to mention dirt on half the politicians and businessmen in the country."

"What could Fisk possibly have on SHIELD to make them afraid of exposing his criminal activities?" Ororo was stunned.

"I don't know, but I wish I did," Scott admitted. "Might make things a bit easier for us."

"If he's against the Sentinels and for the amendment he already is," Ororo said.

"Mostly because half of his empire is built on weapons dealings," Scott smirked wryly.

"Ah I see. No Sentinels, no competition," Ororo remarked.

"Here he comes," Scott murmured as the Kingpin broke away from the crowd and walked up to them. "Just be polite and follow my lead."

"Who do you think I am? Wolverine?" Ororo quipped. Scott smirked and shrugged.

"Mister Summers! Ms. Monroe! I can't tell you how much it means to me that you are speaking on behalf of our cause," The Kingpin smiled warmly and shook their hands with all the grace of a master politician.

"**Our** cause?" Scott raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you were a mutant as well Mr. Fisk."

"Sadly no. But I like to think that I have always been a friend to the mutant community as a whole," The Kingpin said with sincerity. "Many of my own people are mutants. I have many associates who are mutants. And if one day I have a child or a grandchild that will be a mutant, that child will be welcomed with open arms into the family."

"I can imagine what would happen if there was ever a mutant in **your** family," Scott said wryly.

"Now I know we have had…disagreements in the past, but this Sentinel thing…" Kingpin became serious. "It's just bad for business. It affects everyone, not just the X-Men. New York on M-Day became very close to becoming another Bayville. Pardon the expression…I just never thought I'd be so glad Spiderman and so many other heroes were around that day."

"Not to mention quite a few villains were there that day too," Scott said. "And they did their part."

"When one has such a dangerous common foe, one must unite against it or be destroyed," The Kingpin agreed. "We're not talking your run of the mill robots or weapons systems or…"

"Spider Slayers?" Scott couldn't resist.

"Those too," The Kingpin shrugged. "No things such as the Sentinels are like the dark arts. Best left alone. Even I'm having my scientists go over all robotic patents and security systems within my company. I do not wish to have a similar situation within my organization. And I have made it very clear to my subordinates and associates that our focus should be on…alternative security measures."

"It would be bad for your business if a robot replaced **you,**" Scott said.

"Quite. I think I can safely say on this **one subject** we can find some common agreement," Kingpin nodded.

"When you put it that way, how can I refuse such a **generous **offer?" Scott asked. "I take that you will ensure that other associates in your business will be counted on not only this arrangement but other issues involving the exploitation of mutants?"

"I take it you are referring to not only the horrid practice of mutant trafficking but selling weapons to the FOH and other mutant hate groups?" The Kingpin raised an eyebrow. "Actually I had a very frank talk with your mayor about that very subject."

"You did?" Scott asked.

"Yes. And I agree with Mr. Danko, such actions are…counterproductive and not cost effective," The Kingpin made a motion with his hands. "It's one thing if a mutant chooses to join my company of his own free will, but forcing a mutant to do so…Or selling arms to the FOH? That is just not good business. Nor is selling arms to Hydra since they are the competition."

"Really?" Scott was interested.

"Let's just say I have made some distasteful mistakes when it comes to that particular organization in the past. And I have no intention of repeating them," The Kingpin spoke.

"They double crossed you didn't they?" Scott asked.

"A very big mistake," The Kingpin frowned. "Anyway since members of your X-Men also have some unfortunate history with that organization I see no reason why we shouldn't work together against Hydra. I may hear certain things and will pass them on to you."

"And we in turn will pass them on to SHIELD," Scott guessed correctly.

"I have made it very clear to my people that anti-mutant attitudes or actions will not be tolerated," The Kingpin said. "I find prejudice so last century. And not good for business. And since I have no interest in harming mutants…"

"There would be no interest of us to get in the way of your affairs," Scott put it together.

"Keep in mind that I have many competitors that do **not** share my views of a more harmonious world," Kingpin pointed out. "However I am willing to assist the X-Men in rooting out these vile miscreants who would not only supply weapons to anti-mutant organizations, but exploit mutants for their own gain."

"I see," Scott nodded. "You do realize that from time to time the X-Men may have to check up on the mutants in **your** employment. Just to make sure that everything is going well and that they aren't committing any crimes. You understand that right?"

"Of course I do," The Kingpin nodded. "And I also understand that if any of my mutant employees is caught doing something illegal he or she will have to face justice. **If **they are caught and proven guilty in a court of law."

"And you will not interfere?" Scott asked.

"Short of providing them with good lawyers which I understand is allowed in this country," The Kingpin made a sigh. "Just recently my own son has been convicted of criminal conduct and sentenced to five years in prison. If I can't make an exception for my own son…"

"I get the message," Scott nodded.

"I understand your reservations, Mr. Summers," Kingpin sighed. "Believe me, sometimes we have to make deals with people we don't like. For the greater good. Then again considering your deal with the government I'm not telling you anything you don't already know am I?"

The Kingpin then gave him a look. "I am by no means a saint in any sense of the word. But I am not your enemy. Believe me, there are **worse** dangers out there than my organization. Especially for mutants."

He pointed to a pudgy man with balding black hair in an expensive suit. "Take Ambassador Clarence Harlow over there. He's one of many within the United States government that still thinks Sentinels are necessary. He and fools like him would condemn us all for his petty hatred."

"I'm aware of the ambassador's politics," Scott said.

"Did you also know he still has friends within not only SHIELD but the Pentagon?" Kingpin said. "He's been known to back quite a few black ops projects. And not all of them are in the best interests of the American People."

"I knew about the military but I didn't know about SHIELD," Scott frowned.

"Even I can only do so much so watch out for him and his little cabal," Kingpin said. "However I am not a man without influence."

He looked over. "Senator Emerson!" He waved to an older man with white hair and a dapper grey suit. "Senator! Come over here Henry and meet Mr. Summers and Ms. Monroe."

"Well hello there Wilson! Long time no see!" Senator Emerson spoke in a Texas drawl and smiled broadly. "Mister Summers, Ms. Monroe it is good to meet you. I was just talking to some of my friends in the Senate about the work you've done."

"Oh I'll **bet **you have," Scott smiled warmly.

"Wilson and I go way back," Senator Emerson spoke warmly. "When he called me after the horrible tragedy of M-Day I knew it was my solemn duty as an elected official of this great country that a horror like that day never happens again."

"Let's throw the jackals of the press a bone shall we?" The Kingpin smiled warmly and motioned several photographers over to them. "I think they'd be interested in a picture of one of the backers of the Amendment with two famous X-Men."

Several pictures were taken. Many reporters shouted questions and the Senator made grandiose sound bites of 'A tragedy for the world' and 'A time for coming together'.

Scott didn't believe a word of it. He had just gotten some files and information on the Senator himself that more than proved he would rather be on the Sentinel's side than the mutants. But he went along with the charade.

Eventually they moved away from the reporters. The Senator excused himself. "Mr. Summers can I count on your agreement for a future of mutual cooperation?" The Kingpin asked.

"Of course," Scott said smoothly, shaking hands with the Kingpin. There were a few more impromptu pictures by the press and a few more pleasant words for the public before the two X-Men moved away.

"I'm surprised this amendment is gaining such support," Ororo finally spoke. "It's remarkable we even got a senator as powerful as Emerson on our side."

"Yes. Especially considering until recently he was a member of the FOH until they fell out of favor. Senator Emerson hates mutants but he's in the Kingpin's pocket," Scott said snidely. "That little photo op was his way of saying he's going to make sure the Senator plays ball or else."

"I must admit, for a criminal that man does know how to make the law work for us," Ororo shrugged. "Then again sometimes I wonder if there really is a difference between a politician and a criminal."

"Of course there is," Scott said. "A criminal gets things done."

Before Ororo could say anything else something caught her eye. "**Now** what's going on?"

"Hello Storm. Cyclops," Reed Richards walked up with the rest of the Fantastic Four in uniform. "Welcome to New York."

"It's always a pleasure to see the Fantastic Four," Scott said. "What are you doing here? Are you testifying for the UN?"

"No, we usually stay out of politics," Reed said. "The city asked us if we would be your official escorts for this meeting."

"Escorts? You're here to guard **us?**" Scott found the situation slightly ridiculous.

"Well you know there are a lot of people that still want to cause trouble with mutants," Reed said diplomatically.

"Plus you guys have this big rep for causing disasters wherever you go," Johnny shrugged.

"Way to be diplomatic Torch," Ben grumbled. "And you think I got a big mouth?"

"No offense but the Fantastic Four is not exactly immune to disasters either," Scott said. "So why don't you tell me why you're **really** here?"

"The city asked us to be your escorts," Reed admitted. "It's the truth."

"Again why you? Why not the Avengers?" Scott asked.

"The Avengers are here they're just…" Reed paused. "They're doing security detail for all the other delegates."

"You mean all the **human **delegates," Scott frowned.

"That's not how it is," Reed said.

"Really? Then explain it to me Richards," Scott said. "Because I don't see too many armed guards flanking all the other delegates."

"You know there are security agents all over here," Johnny said. "All in gray suits and undercover and stuff."

"And yet you have to be right here right in front of us, front and center," Scott said. "The reason I only brought Storm was to minimize the presence of Super Powered individuals. We purposely dressed in civilian clothes to try and blend in with the public. To make people see that we are like them. That we aren't a threat. And now you're here in uniform in order to protect **us?**"

"How nice of you to finally do **something **to protect mutants," Ororo said sarcastically.

"What do you want Reed to say? People are still scared of mutants! A lot of people don't trust you!" Johnny spoke up.

"Johnny!" Sue was stunned.

"What? They're not stupid Sue. They pretty much have figured it out!" Johnny said.

"They don't trust **us,** the people who saved the world several times?" Scott asked. "But they trust **you** more than us? Yeah **that** makes sense."

"Maybe it does. You were talking with the Kingpin just now," Reed frowned. "Seemed kind of chummy."

"You of all people should know that appearances can be deceiving," Scott said with a hint of ice in his voice. "Besides he's a lot more vocal for the Anti-Sentinel Amendment than you are."

"That's not fair. The Fantastic Four isn't a political force," Susan said. "We're not supposed to…"

"Spare me the line about you **heroes** not getting involved in politics," Ororo interrupted angrily.

"Well three of you anyway," Scott gave Reed a look. Reed winced from the glare. "Tell me something Richards, before the Illuminati were disbanded how much time did your group give to disbanding the Sentinels?"

"I'd like to know the answer to that question myself," Ororo folded her arms.

"Reed?" Susan looked at her husband.

"I really don't…." Reed began.

"Come on Stretch spit it out," Ben frowned.

"Xavier mentioned it at a few meetings but we had a few…other things to take care of," Reed sighed. "He said he needed our help for a more detailed plan on the Sentinels right before his…accident."

"And **after **he was in a coma did you discuss it?" Ororo asked.

"Look…We didn't get together that much after that," Reed admitted. "Doctor Doom attacked us twice. The Avengers had a Skrull and Chitauri infestation they were working on. Black Bolt and Namor had their own problems in their kingdoms and Doctor Strange was off somewhere doing something mystical…."

"But you did get together, at least long enough to worry about getting rid of Banner who was supposed to be your friend," Scott's voice had an edge to it.

"We were just trying to find a way to contain the Hulk and…" Reed began.

"Hold on, Reed. Are you saying you guys promised to help Xavier get rid of those tin cans but the second he took a nap you guys welshed on it?" Ben was stunned.

"Not deliberately," Reed protested. "It just sort of…dropped from our minds."

"Dropped from your minds? Mutant kind was decimated because you forgot your promise to help!" Scott snapped. "So much for the Illuminati making a difference."

"No wonder the Professor didn't want to speak today," Ororo said. "It wasn't just because of what happened the last time he spoke. He couldn't face his former friends who betrayed him."

"Reed! How could you all do that to them?" Sue protested as Scott and Ororo broke away.

"That was pretty low, man," Johnny agreed.

"We didn't do it on purpose! It just happened!" Reed was heard protesting.

"Yeah and a lot of people died because you just happened to drop the ball!" Ben snapped. Some more arguing was heard as the mutants walked away.

"Let's try and give our **bodyguards **the slip inside," Scott whispered to Ororo. She nodded and followed his lead. They went inside the building.

"Well this day is getting more and more interesting by the minute," Ororo remarked. "And the UN hasn't even been convened yet."

"I'll be happy if no fights break out in the middle," Scott groaned.

It wasn't long before the UN convened and started the debate. "We agree that the Sentinel Project was poorly run and a failure without any proper safeguards," Ambassador Harlow spoke. "However the fact remains that the mutant problem is still very real. The temporary measures we have placed will not be enough to ensure peace…"

_**"Temporary measures?"**_ Ororo's tone was angry as she whispered to Scott as the Ambassador kept speaking. "The bill is barely a law and he wants to throw it out! Along with the rest of us!"

"They still hate us," Scott muttered under his breath. "The government blames us for M-Day even though it wasn't our fault."

At that moment Scott knew that as much as he disliked it, he knew the deal he made with the Kingpin was the right one.

"I'm not saying mistakes weren't made," Ambassador Harlow spoke in front of the UN. "But those flaws were mainly due to the individuals that programmed the Sentinels in the first place."

"Yeah they were intolerant bigots," Scott gritted his teeth, whispering to Ororo.

"Unfortunately in today's world Sentinels have become a necessary evil," Ambassador Harlow spoke.

This caused a loud commotion. "How can you **say **that?" The Ambassador from Great Britain yelled.

"How can I not? First mutants come out of the genetic closet," Ambassador Harlow counted. "Then other super humans like the Hulk and whatever the hell half the Avengers are. Then aliens, werewolves, vampires and other were creatures and now we have those damned Atlanteans on our doorstep populating our oceans! The fact is that as a species humanity is more vulnerable than ever! It seems every year we discover some other race or creature is on our planet. And the more of them there are the fewer of **us!** How long is it going to be before our people are extinct?"

"They can't be **serious**?" Ororo was stunned as some people seemed to be agreeing with the ambassador.

"They are," Scott frowned. "This is why we need to speak up now! You have that power point presentation Arcade and Kitty made up?"

"Yes," Ororo nodded as she held up a disk. "Are you ready?"

"I'll have to be," Scott said.

It wasn't long before Scott made his way to the podium. It was if he could feel all the eyes of the world on him. _It's now or never_…He thought.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Ambassadors and Members of the Press…" Scott began. "My name is Scott Summers. I'm twenty three years old. I'm a graduate of Bayville High School in Bayville, New York. I'm an accomplished pilot, mechanic and teacher. I enjoy playing sports, watching football and hanging out with my friends. I have a family, a girlfriend…And I also have an X-Gene."

On a huge screen behind him were pictures of Scott with Jean. Scott with Alex hanging on a beach. Teenage Scott with Kurt washing his car (Kurt still had his inducer on). Scott playing baseball with some of the other X-Men. A picture of Scott in front of a Christmas tree holding up a sweater.

"Basically my X-Gene enables my body to metabolize and store certain kinds of energy. In my case mostly sunlight and other passive forms of energy. To put it simply my body absorbs sunlight and other low level energy in the atmosphere and metabolizes it into my body. The energy is redirected to my optic nerves which enables my eyes to emit a beam of energy when they are open. Although they do not emit any heat or radiation they can be quite destructive if not harnessed correctly."

Slides of medical files were shown and diagrams on how Scott's powers worked were shown behind him.

"Unfortunately due to an accident as a child I suffered severe brain damage and I am unable to turn off my optic blasts," Scott pointed to his glasses. "Fortunately my glasses here are made from a particular crystal that absorbs this energy harmlessly. This allows me to contain my powers and go about my life like a normal human being. That is the goal of the Xavier Institute. To help mutants control their powers and teach them to not only use their gifts for the greater good, but to assimilate and live normal lives."

Scenes of Scott fighting Juggernaut and other super villains were shown behind him. Following pictures of Scott and his team fighting Sentinels.

"But how can we live normal lives when we are constantly persecuted? It's not easy when you live with hate and intolerance everywhere you turn. It's bad enough there are too many secret organizations that want to experiment and exploit us. But when you send robots, machines to control the lives of people? That intolerance and hate on the highest level. And our only crime was being born."

"For a long time I have been hearing about the 'mutant problem'. A lot of people think that the problem has to do with who we are and what we can do. That is **not **the problem. The problem was that mutants were never seen as a whole. People only looked at our powers and never the person behind them. And that's one of the reasons the Sentinel Program was a complete and total disaster."

"It didn't take into account all the different factors a mutant has. Which mutants were aggressive and which weren't? Which mutants were unable to use their powers because they would harm themselves as well as other people? Which mutants were unable to fight back because their powers were relatively harmless? Which mutants were taught to value life and to be law abiding citizens and which were the criminals? Which mutants are adults and which are only children? Those factors are not part of the programming of a Sentinel. All the Sentinels see is a big X and a target because of one tiny gene."

"Would you like to be targeted for something that you can't control? Throughout history many minorities were ostracized and even enslaved for something they were born with. Whether it was their skin color, their gender or even being born in a certain area of the world humanity has oppressed those who were different. Mutants are simply the latest group to suffer persecution."

"Isn't it time we ended this? That we end this endless cycle of hate? Of fear and intolerance? All hate does is lead us to war, death and destruction. Isn't it time that we embrace our differences? To embrace life, peace and creativity? We could all do so much good together if we are willing to ignore our differences and embrace what we all share."

"A very wise man once told me that true evolution does not lie within one's genes, but within one's heart. And I believe that. It is our spirits that can evolve past our history of hatred and intolerance and grow into a world of understanding and peace. The greatest power anyone can have is the ability to have an open mind and a willingness to change."

"We all are people. We all need air to breathe and to live under the sun. We all need to eat, sleep, love and be loved. We all suffer due to sickness and natural disasters. And we can all do something about it."

"But Sentinels do not see that. All they see are targets. Whether they are full mutants, or humans with a dormant X-Gene or even the potential to have a dormant X-Gene it is all the same to them. Under that category, over **ninety five percent** of the entire human race will be targeted. If Sentinels are rebuilt they will wipe out all but a handful, maybe a hundred or two hundred human beings out of billions. And those few that do not survive will be controlled…like animals. Slaves to the machines."

"This isn't just another arms race. This is the survival of the **entire human** race at stake," Scott spoke. "We have all seen the destruction and devastation those machines create. They make nuclear weapons look like simple clubs and spears. If these things are built all over the world, they will simply regroup and try again!"

"I can understand your concerns Cyclops," Ambassador Harlow interrupted. "But I'm sure with better programming…"

"Mister Ambassador, even the Sentinels figured out that humans and mutants are part of the same species," Scott interrupted. "Because mutants **came** from humans. M-Day was not the first time I've seen this happen. **Twice **I've seen independent Sentinel programs come to the conclusion that the most effective way of controlling the mutant population is to eradicate the human one. We may not survive a **third **time."

On the screen were now shots over several capital buildings from all over the world being attacked by Sentinels, including the one in Washington DC. The room went quiet. "The Sentinel Program is not just a menace to the mutants. It's a member to **all members** of the human race, whether they possess an active X-Gene or not!" Scott spoke. "Mutants just happen to be the first to be attacked. The supposed reason for them being built but that is not the truth. The truth for the Sentinels being built is fear and the desire for power."

"I agree!" An unlikely voice boomed over the room. "It was an example of the United States wielding power over us!"

"Oh crap…" Scott muttered under his breath as he saw Doctor Doom make a dramatic entrance into the room. "Here we go…"

Immediately the Fantastic Four blocked his way. "What are you doing here Doom?" Johnny asked. "If it's a fight you want…"

"For once Torch I am not here for a fight with you and your…associates," Doctor Doom gave him a look. "I am here to support the Anti-Sentinel Amendment."

"You're on the _mutants' side?"_ Someone called out.

"I'm on my **own** side!" Doctor Doom shouted. "Lavertia has no mutants within its borders but that did not stop the Sentinels from attacking my country and decimating half my kingdom to rubble!"

"What do you know? I guess those tin cans did some good after all," Johnny mocked.

"You wouldn't say that if you saw what happened in Bayville!" Scott snapped, his anger bubbling to the surface.

"It wasn't exactly a picnic for us in New York you know?" Ben grunted.

"And less of one in Lavertia!" Doctor Doom snarled. "I saw my people shot in the streets, burned alive like animals due to your Sentinel' **malfunction.** Some of them were my most loyal soldiers and allies! Doom does not take such attacks lightly! The only reason I have not declared war on your country is because I must put the needs of my people **first!** All my resources are being dedicating to rebuilding our country and strengthening our borders."

"The original programming of the Sentinels was not to attack Lavertia," Ambassador Harlow spoke. "Or any other country. The Sentinels were supposed to protect people."

"Yes you keep saying that. Now where have I heard **that** before?" Doctor Doom made a show of thinking. "Oh yes, it was over the Ultron Incident. You remember **that** Ambassador? When one of your most esteemed scientists Doctor Henry Pym created a thinking robot built to enforce peace? And what happened **then?**"

"Uh…Well…" Ambassador Harlow coughed.

"What's wrong Ambassador? Cat got your tongue?" Doctor Doom asked. He heard the sound of metal armor walking up. "Ah, Iron Man. Perhaps you can shed light on the subject we were discussing here? The topic is the Ultron incident. What happened when your **friend **created a robot built to enforce peace on humanity?"

"That has nothing to do with…" Iron Man in full armor spoke. Behind him was Wasp, Ant Man and Captain America.

"It has **everything** to do with it and you know it! But you won't dare speak the truth because of your government's involvement with…" Doctor Doom interrupted.

"It was my fault," Ant Man spoke up. "I created Ultron using my own brain patterns. And it turned on me. It became a power hungry monster."

The room grew quiet. "You see? Ant Man here admits his mistakes," Doctor Doom said dramatically. "And we all know what a peace loving man he is. Now if a robot he created could go bad…."

"There was more to it than that!" Wasp spoke up.

"That still doesn't change the fact that he's right!" Ant Man snapped. "The Sentinels and Ultron…Are two sides of the same coin."

"The only difference is that the Sentinels were programmed to destroy mutants **first,**" Scott gave him a look.

"Yes. Rather clever of them to try and remove any and all obstacles to power out of their way wasn't it?" Doctor Doom quipped. "Personally I'll take my chances with the mutants. At least you can reason with **some** of them."

A murmur occurred among the crowd. "What happened with the Sentinels was a mistake and a tragedy," Iron Man spoke. "But you have to admit they were only weapons with faulty programming."

"Well Iron Man it is one thing to make a gun that you can just give to a person and he decides whether to kill someone or not," Doctor Doom remarked. "It's quite another to create a thinking gun that is **programmed** whether to kill someone or not."

"I have no love for mutants I admit, but I admit there are things far **worse **than them," A French Ambassador spoke. "Killer robots and aliens from another planet for starters!"

"Those robots are a menace!" The Ambassador from Mexico agreed. "Many people from my home city were killed for no reason!"

"Those Sentinels are the worst abominations I have seen in my life!" The Italian Ambassador agreed.

"Wait a second! Doom has hundreds of robots at his disposal!" Wasp spoke out.

"**Had **hundreds of robots at his disposal," Doom corrected. "And unlike Sentinels my robots didn't think for themselves. They only followed my commands."

"Iron Man why are you and the Avengers fighting **this?**" Ororo asked.

"Last I heard Stark Industries had nothing to do with making Sentinels," Scott folded his arms. "Granted it did give the MRD and the Government several other weapons and anti-mutant technology but not Sentinels."

"Simple, he wants to control the market on robots," Doctor Doom waved.

"That's not true!" Iron Man shouted.

Doom went on. "Everyone by now knows that Tony Stark is Iron Man and the more power he has over robots the more money he makes. But even he has to admit that thinking robots are nothing but trouble and a threat to the entire human race. Threats like the Sentinels, Ultron…And sooner or later the Vision."

It then became clear to Scott the **other reason** Doom had for supporting this bill so vehemently. And why Iron Man and the others were hesitant to speak against it.

"Cyclops don't you agree that it would be better for **everyone** if these so called sentient robots are either dismantled or placed under control?" Doctor Doom asked. "I mean you don't want the Sentinel Incident to happen **again **do you?"

Scott knew what Doom was angling for. He glanced at Ororo. Her face was passive, admitting nothing. But he saw the look in her eyes.

He knew what he had to do.

"Of course I agree," Scott spoke calmly. "We can't afford the world being taken over by Sentinels or any other type of thinking machine again. Of course we are excluding those androids that are half organic aren't we? Many people have had their limbs destroyed by the Sentinels and been brainwashed and converted by Mastermind…"

"Obviously there is an exception **there,**" Doctor Doom raised his hands. "We're talking about things that were machines from the beginning. Half human- half machine is obviously a huge difference."

"Because it's the human half that does the thinking, mostly," Scott said. "Of course the language in the bill would state clearly that cyborgs or humanoid androids do **not **apply to this case."

"Of course they don't," Doctor Doom nodded. "I think most of our colleagues would agree to that. Its sentient robots we want to destroy. Not people who happen to have robotic parts. That's just barbaric."

"I **knew **you were up to something!" Ant Man snapped. "You're just using this as an excuse to try and destroy one of our members!"

"You mean _your robot_?" Doctor Doom said. "I'd hardly call a robot a member. After all it's not like it is a flesh and blood person!"

"Wait, several mutants are metal," Wasp said. "Sort of."

"There's a big difference in a mutant who can turn his skin to metal or his skin becoming metal than a machine that was always metal," Scott gave her a look. "The difference is that we are people! Not machines!"

Scott turned to the crowd. "Our future…The future of this entire planet is in _your hands_," Scott said. "Do you really think that creating menaces like the Sentinels will make your countries stronger? They will turn on you. And **destroy** you. That is what they are programmed to do. Look at what happened here in the United States, one of the most powerful nations in the world and even it was almost helpless against the force of the Sentinels. Only by working together with mutants, humans and other super powered beings alike were we able to turn the tide."

Scott paused for effect. "Unlike mutants who have a choice on how to use their powers. For Sentinels there is no choice. Just destruction. I am begging you all to put your differences aside for this moment and protect the human race. **All** members of the human race."

Scott looked at the crowd. "Most of us mutants don't want war. We want peace. But we need your help to do so. By supporting this Amendment you are all taking a stand against hate. By making sure that Sentinels are illegal you are allowing all your children to have a better future. A world where humans of all kinds can work together peacefully. Mutants are **not **your replacements. We never were. We're your brothers. We're your sisters. We're your sons and daughters. Friends and lovers. I'm asking you to please listen to us before you cast us aside. We can do so much good as a whole human race. Not as a divided one."

"Cyclops is right. This is not about competition between members of different factions," Doctor Doom spoke up. "This is about the survival of the entire planet. A planet ruled by people, not machines!"

"People not machines! People not machines!" A large contingent of the crowd chanted. Scott could see out of the corner of his eye that in the center of that chanting crowd was the Kingpin. He knew the Kingpin had that group in his pocket to ensure the outcome of the vote.

"And whether these people are mutants or not I'm sure we can come up with other measures to keep the peace rather than surrendering our lives and freedoms to a group of oversized tin cans!" Doctor Doom shouted.

"Yeah you'd rather be the **undersized **tin can in power!" Johnny shouted out.

"We are **not** talking about me," Doctor Doom bristled.

"For once we're talking about another threat **besides** you," Ben grunted. "But for once I agree with Chrome Dome. Those damned Sentinels are more trouble than they're worth."

"What about you Richards? Are you going to just **stand by** and let this happen **again?**" Scott glared at Reed, making sure he emphasized his words.

Reed gave in. "The Sentinels are a menace. There's no argument on that. And I suppose some sort of restrictions should be put in place to all robots made in the future. And the present."

"Reed…" Iron Man began.

"No Stark! This needs to be done. I…We should have taken precautions against something like this a long time ago," Reed gave him a look. "We can't stay silent on this. Not anymore. The Anti-Sentinel Amendment must pass."

"Captain America you've been rather quiet throughout this whole conversation," Scott gave him a look. "What are your thoughts on this?"

"The last thing the world needs is another arms race," Captain America admitted. "We need to work together in order to restore peace."

"See? Even your own beloved Captain America agrees with this treaty!" Doctor Doom spoke up. "How can you still think that these metal monstrosities are good for this planet?"

"The world has enough problems with people let alone machines!" An unnamed ambassador spoke up. Many people took up his sentiments while others argued against them.

"But what about mutants?" Harlow shouted back. Some of his supporters loudly agreed with him.

"Are you so afraid of mutants who don't even want to fight that you'd doom us all?" The Ambassador from Spain shouted.

"You told us that mutants didn't want peace," Another Ambassador spoke. "But it is obvious today that they do."

"Perhaps the good ambassador from the United States was counting on manipulating your opinions on mutants in order to make his country stronger?" Doom spoke.

"Just what do you mean by that?" Harlow snapped.

"Your anti-mutant propaganda was quite effective in spreading fear among the other countries," Doom said. "Not to mention your sales pitch for selling Sentinels to your allies."

"YES! Yes! He told us how if we bought Sentinels from him it would solve all our problems with the mutants!" The Indian Ambassador stood up. "And he even hinted that we could use the Sentinels against our enemies even if they were not mutants!"

"He told us the same thing about **you!**" The ambassador from Pakistan stood up. Many other ambassadors made similar exclamations and started to yell.

"So they were using mutants as a scapegoat in order to increase their own power and profits!" Doctor Doom spoke up. This caused a stir within many ambassadors and delegates.

"There's something I want to know Harlow," Scott stared the senator in the face. "What did mutants ever do to you?"

"What?" Harlow glared at him.

"What did a mutant do that was so bad to make you hate us so much?" Scott asked. "It's clear you hate mutants. There has to be a reason for it."

"You were born! You're a threat to us! That's reason enough!" Harlow snapped.

"No it's not. Come on. There has to be something more than that," Scott asked. "Did a mutant kill or hurt a member of your family?"

"No," Harlow said. "I don't have to answer your questions!"

"I think you should," Ben glared at the senator.

"For once I agree with Mr. Grimm here," Doctor Doom said. "I've looked over your files. There isn't even a hint of a mutant stealing your parking space. So where does this hatred come from? Oh wait…I have a clue. Does this have anything to do with your daughter?"

"You leave her out of this!" Harlow shouted.

"Is his daughter a mutant?" Scott asked.

"No. She married a black man," Doctor Doom said. "He hasn't spoken to her or her husband or any of her three children in over ten years."

"Hold on a second…You're saying you hate mutants because you think mutants are caused by interracial romance?" Scott was stunned as he looked at Harlow. "That's insane!"

There is some debate about what happened next. Some say that Harlow reacted to the growing pressure from his office and what happened that day. Some say that his personal life had finally taken its toll on his mind. Others state emphatically that some mutant telepath managed to get inside his head. But no matter what the reason, the following happened.

"Insane! Your **filth** is polluting the entire human gene pool and you are calling me insane?" Harlow screamed. He then started screaming several racial slurs and obscenities. This caused the crowd to gasp and even Doom was a bit shocked at the statements he made.

"What a sad pathetic little man you are," Ororo said coldly when Harlow stopped his rant.

"I agree," Scott said. "Your hatred is more of a disease than any mutant gene."

"Stupid freaks!" Harlow screamed his face red with hatred. "You're the worst mongrels of them all!" He swore several other words not fit for print. And this caused several angry shouts from the other ambassadors.

"GET THAT MAN OUT OF HERE!" Senator Emerson yelled from his seat. "Trash like that isn't fit to represent the United States of America!"

Scott barely paid attention as Emerson and other representatives of the US shouted and had their security teams remove Harlow. He did watch with pleasure as Harlow was dragged off kicking and screaming.

The words Emerson said apologizing to the crowd didn't connect with Scott's mind either. He knew that Emerson hated all sorts of minorities too but Harlow had made the one fatal flaw in politics that could never be forgiven. Never let the public see who you really were and what you really thought.

During a lull he decided to interrupt the good senator. "I'd like to say one final thing. The road to peace is hard. Factors within both human and mutant groups do not agree on everything. I'm not saying every mutant will be peaceful, but for every mutant that wants to make trouble there are **twenty **of us that are willing to stop him. The X-Men and our allies the Misfits are putting into place protocols to monitor and track those mutants that are actually a danger to society and themselves. Hopefully soon we will have our police force up and running. We are willing to help all of you with any problems concerning mutants. And some that do not. We can help you with natural disasters. We are still working on cures for major diseases and making great progress. All we ask is that you talk to us. We are willing to listen."

Over half the room stood up and gave a thunderous applause. Some were more cautious like Doctor Doom but then again he was not the type to be enthusiastic about his applause. Some ambassadors didn't clap but looked concerned while others just gave the mutants angry looks.

Scott didn't care. He felt he made his point.

"Look like Harlow's career is over," Ororo remarked as they finally moved away from the crowds and went into a back room.

"People like Harlow are a dime a dozen," Scott said. "You know as soon as one of those anti-mutant haters goes down two more take his place."

"True but since Harlow was a complete bigot I think this might affect his career more," Iron Man said as the Avengers came into the room after them.

"Hello Iron Man. Captain. Avengers," Scott nodded.

"The Fantastic Four are a bit preoccupied with Doom making speeches so we thought we'd take over watching you," Stark smirked.

"How **considerate**," Ororo smirked.

"Look for the record I agree with you in the majority of what you said about the Sentinels." Iron Man held up his hand. "And Harlow was a jerk who got what was coming to him."

"Yes but did you really have to make the United States look bad while doing it?" Captain America frowned.

"You mean not let on that the government is filled with money grubbing bigots that nearly wiped out the entire world? I don't care about their image! I'm trying to prevent another M-Day from happening," Scott snapped. "If I can't the next time those Sentinels are set loose they'll kill us all!"

"That's still no reason to throw Vision under the bus like that," Wasp snapped. "You can't just let Doom use this as a reason to destroy one of our team mates!"

"Why not?" Scott said in an angry tone. "You never stood up for any one of mine. You had no problems letting my people get destroyed. Why should I care about one of yours?"

"That's not fair Cyclops," Iron Man frowned.

"I'll tell you what's not **fair,** Iron Man," Scott snarled in his face. "While mutants were being persecuted, every other superhuman on this planet was given a pass! The fact that mutants were not only singled out for persecution but ignored for the most part by the rest of you is not fair!"

"We've seen many people die by your inability or unwillingness to get involved," Ororo spoke calmly but with a tone of anger. "Good friends, children, family…"

"What would you have us do? Gyrich kept pressuring the government and SHIELD to have the Avengers go after you," Captain America spoke up. "We didn't get involved out of respect for you."

"Respect? That's a laugh!" Scott snapped.

"Would you have preferred we hunted you down?" Iron Man asked. "Yes, that's just what would have happened if we did get involved. A huge fight between two super powered groups that would have ultimately ended in the endangerment of innocent lives..."

"And you made it your duty to protect the innocent, but many innocent mutants died anyway! How was **that** fair?" Scott asked. "And don't say you didn't get involved Iron Man because we all know you gave the Mardies some of your technology to help capture and contain mutants. Your company even made a small profit off of it. Yeah that's fair!"

"You say you didn't get involved in order to preserve lives but I have a feeling that you were more concerned with preserving your image," Ororo said. "Because maybe that would be one time too many the public wouldn't just suddenly forgive you and then start persecuting you like they did us!"

"We never considered that!" Captain America was stunned.

"Maybe you **should," **Ororo glared at him.

Scott added. "And let's not forget your little **social club**, the Illuminati. Xavier was your friend. He was one of you. You remember? You all made a pact to make the world a better place. You said you would help him find a way to get rid of the Sentinels. And you didn't lift a **finger** to stop the war or the slaughter that went on. And worse, the Illuminati made messes that we mutants had to clean up after you! What was fair about that?"

Scott paused. "So forgive me if I have no problem disregarding the existence of a single robot no matter how good it is when it comes to the safety of my people and the world. Besides I'm pretty sure SHIELD will think of _something_ to keep Vision from being mothballed. It's too valuable for them to just use for scrap metal."

"You're just going along with this to get back at us!" Wasp snapped. "Destroying Vision is some kind of petty revenge for you isn't it?"

"Revenge? _Revenge?_ Are you **insane**?" Scott shouted at her. "After **everything** I have been through in the past year and a half you really think that I have time for revenge on **you**?"

"Quite frankly…" Iron Man began.

"Let me explain something to **you,** Stark!" Scott interrupted, pointing his finger at him. "I have _a lot more_ on my mind than thinking up little ways of annoying the Avengers! Rebuilding the Xavier Institute and the town of Bayville for one. Helping the mutants that survived M-Day is another. Trying to put together a shattered species that is at the brink of extinction and work towards protecting them so a disaster like the Mutant War and the Sentinel Attacks can never happen again! I think those things are a tad more important than attacking your team aren't they?"

"I…" Iron Man tried to say something.

"Oh and let's not forget that I have one or two **personal issues** on my mind right now," Scott went on. "Worrying about my fiancé who was recently possessed by a cosmic force and is currently locked up by SHIELD which is poking and prodding her. Looking for any excuse to lock her away for good! The loss of my son to God only knows what time period! The fact that I was mentally raped and used in some sick science experiment by a madman still bothers me. Plus I'm busy comforting my friends that survived the war…And burying the ones who didn't."

Scott turned away from them. "Did you know we finally managed to find a good spot for the new cemetery in Bayville? The old one was literally dug up and destroyed by the Sentinels. Well two cemeteries. One for the humans that died and a larger one for the mutants. What's left of half of them can't be identified or sent to families that no longer care. The lucky ones will have their own tombstone. The rest will be put in one mass grave with a memorial on it."

"It's overlooking the ocean in the woods near the Institute," Scott went on. "Probably the only part of Bayville that still had some trees growing…There's going to be a ceremony in a few days. We're officially burying those mutants that died there. Some of them were X-Men."

Scott gave the Avengers a hard look. "I lost friends in that war. I lost people I considered family in that war. I lost people I trained with and trained myself! People I laughed with, fought with, ate with, suffered and triumphed with. People I were proud to call my friends. Most of them were younger than I am. Maybe **one **of you understands what that means…" He looked at Captain America. "But I doubt the rest of you do."

"To put it simply, revenge isn't even at the **bottom** of my list of things I need to do," Scott finished. "I have no time for it. I just need to do what I have to do and move on. Maybe one day I can forgive what you did…Or **didn't** do. But I will never **forget**. No mutant _will ever_ forget your decisions regarding the war. And that's a promise."

He walked away, barely realizing that Ororo was next to him. Only when he was sure they were alone in one of the hallways of the building did he stop. He took a breath, trying to control his rage.

"I don't think you should drive in this state," Ororo took his right arm and pulled up the sleeve, revealing one of the Misfit's teleportation watches on his wrists. "We can get the car later."

Scott nodded as used the device to teleport them back to Bayville. They ended up in a tent in front of what would be the new Institute. "Damn thing comes in handy you have to admit," Scott sighed. "Guess Althea was right in lending one of these to us."

"Scott…You did what you had to do," Ororo said. "And you were right."

"I know. I don't even feel guilty. I just feel..." Scott ran his hand through his hair. "So angry at everything. Especially at the hypocrisy of it all."

"I can't help but feel the same way," Ororo let out a breath. "They were more concerned about their android these past two minutes than mutants in the past two years. Not to mention the fact that they are upset that their government's precious reputation is tarnished even though it's spent nearly two years trying to exterminate us. I can't believe I'm saying this but part of me is enjoying this sort of revenge. If you can call it that."

"More like a taste of their own medicine," Scott said. "And if you didn't feel that way after everything you've been through then you wouldn't be human."

"I know it's just…" Ororo threw up her hands. "Goddess, what does it say about the state of the world we live in when we can count on the support of people like the Kingpin and Doctor Doom and **can't** on people like the Avengers?"

"Some people still count mutants as part of the same crowd of Doctor Doom and the Kingpin," Scott admitted. "It doesn't matter. We have to use every advantage we can get. Every contact in power we have. Even if it means using people like Doom and Fisk."

"Whatever it takes?"

"Not just whatever it takes. Whatever it takes isn't good enough," Scott said. "We do what is **best.** With as little bloodshed and as much honor as possible. That's the foundation we need to make our people strong. To make them better. To make our future."

"You made a huge step today in doing that," Ororo said. "Your speech and the alliances you made ensured the passage of the Anti-Sentinel Amendment. I know Kingpin and Doom are dangerous but compared to the Sentinels…"

"It's only a truce on **this,**" Scott said. "As long as they don't come after us openly or try to take over the planet we'll leave them to the other **heroes.** God knows we have enough enemies as it is."

"The irony is that one of our best allies is Doom's own son," Ororo said. "I've seen Rocker's plans for the town and the new government he's making. He is deliberately trying to recruit humans into the town in order so that we can work together."

"I know. I may not have completely approved of all his methods but one thing I can say for Rocker is that he knew how to use the media to his advantage and how to keep things quiet," Scott said. "He'll be a good mayor for Bayville. With him running things I don't have to worry that much about the town."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Ororo recited the old adage. "It seems especially true in this case."

"He even contacted the Kingpin and made a deal with him. Oh come on Storm you didn't really think the Kingpin came up with this whole scheme on his own did you? Remember, he was part of Factor One's sick game even if we can't prove it. He only cares about his profits and power. By staying out of mutant affairs he's just securing his position."

"And using us to get rid of his competition," Ororo said.

"Maybe but his competition is our enemy too. And if having the Kingpin do some of our dirty work for us is a small price to pay to make sure mutants aren't exploited. The problem is that we need more allies," Scott sighed. "And let's face it, we can't count on half the so called hero population out there."

"Like the Avengers," Ororo said. "Especially after what happened today."

"They're the ones who decided to be our rivals the minute they turned their backs on mutant kind," Scott snapped. "I'm not gonna lose any sleep over what they think. Even if Captain America is Wolverine's friend."

"Iron Man was quite chummy with Xavier too," Rogue said as she walked into the tent with Remy in full X-Man uniform. "His whole Illuminati Club didn't do squat to help us."

"Unfortunately sooner or later we're going to have to do something to make peace with the Avengers," Scott grumbled.

"Hopefully not too soon," Remy folded his arms. "Let them worry about having one of their own get dismantled for a change!"

"Your speech was on TV," Rogue explained. "The whole world saw it. Hopefully your words didn't fall on deaf ears."

"Enjoyed how Harlow fell to pieces," Remy grinned. "That'll keep the gossips jawing for a few hours."

"How'd the meetings go?" Scott changed the subject.

"Not bad," Remy said. "The New Guild of Thieves and Assassins just made an exclusive contract with SHEILD."

"And we made sure SHIELD and Fury didn't forget who set it up," Rogue smirked. "Part of the agreement was that Fury would make sure the Senators in his pocket would vote for the Anti-Sentinel Amendment in the United States as well as in the world charter."

"That part was a no brainer. He lost a lot of people and bases on M-Day too," Scott waved. "Not to mention the Sentinel attack made SHIELD look like it wasn't doing its job. What about the other meeting?"

"Runaways are thinking about it," Remy shrugged. "Truth be told we all agreed that they would fit in with the Misfits better than the X-Men. And they'd be useful out in San Francisco where the other mutants are."

"That's fine with me. I have no problem with that," Scott said.

"Figured you wouldn't. That's why Wavedancer was at the meeting too," Rogue said. "I think they might go for it. It will take a couple of days to iron out all the details."

"I'm surprised you were able to convince them at all," Ororo said.

"Things are a bit tougher since M-Day," Remy shrugged. "I think they'd be getting tired of being on the run all the time and want to find a better place to live. This way they get to do their job but have somewhat of a decent home and finish their schooling."

"Good," Scott nodded. "Our good news is that our newest friends are the Kingpin and Doctor Doom. They want to get rid of Sentinels permanently just as bad as we do."

"Kingpin's no brainer," Remy shrugged. "Sentinels around hunting his hired help he'd be out of half his army in no time flat. And he makes a lot of money with his remaining contacts in what's left of the Mutant Mob."

"And Doom's pride is smarting like a kid's bottom after he's been caught stealing," Rogue said. "His whole castle is nothing more than a parking lot now."

"There's another reason," Ororo said. "Doom wants to add the Vision to the list."

"Really? Huh that's an interesting wrinkle," Rogue thought.

"I have very little doubt the United Nations will soon pass the Anti-Sentinel Amendment despite a few vocal protests from mutant hating scum," Scott snarled. "But we really need more allies. Any suggestions?"

"Well if they ever had a vote to replace the Sorcerer Supreme on Earth my vote would be for Benny," Rogue said. "He stood with us when we needed him the most. He took down Apocalypse for crying out loud."

"Of course Benny is our strongest ally in the magic world," Scott waved. "And Illyana but she's off in Limbo. And Margali won't abandon her daughter so that's three. But that's not enough. We need more magical allies."

"Well since Benny is technically dating my sister I think I'd better ask him if there's any other magicians we can talk with," Rogue groaned. "But don't expect miracles."

"Just do what you can Rogue. That's all I ask," Scott said.

"As for allies I know for a fact we can count on the support of the Black Panther," Ororo spoke. "Technically he is an Avenger."

"A reserve member who refused to have anything to do with his team when the war went on," Scott pointed out. "Better than nothing. And we know he'll stand with us. His country did harbor mutants during the whole fiasco."

"Anyone else?" Rogue asked.

"I think we just shamed Reed Richards and the rest of the Fantastic Four into helping us," Scott added. "Personally I think his guilt complex is too little too late but at this point I'll take what I can get."

"What about Namor of Atlantis?" Ororo thought. "Technically he's a mutant."

"Namor? That punk didn't do squat until near the end of the war and when he did show up he made things worse!" Remy snapped. "I'd be friendly to him like I'd be friendly to a shark."

"Yeah well that shark is going to have to be an ally if we are going to make sure that M-Day never happens again," Scott said.

"Wavedancer is gonna **love **that," Rogue said. "Her family ain't exactly that fond of the Atlanteans after what went down with her Momma. Can't say I blame her."

"She'll put her anger aside for the greater good," Scott said. "Shipwreck however is another story…"

"Goddess don't remind me," Ororo moaned. "I suppose I have to keep an eye on him?"

"You are the best person for that particular job," Remy smirked.

"Wonderful," Ororo grumbled.

"Think of it this way, if he gets out of hand you have an excuse to zap him with some lighting," Rogue smirked.

"I already have **plenty** of excuses to do that," Ororo rolled her eyes. "But for once Shipwreck isn't our biggest problem when it comes to PR."

"We're just going to have to put on the mother of all PR campaigns in order to convince people that mutants aren't the enemy," Rogue grumbled.

"Win 'em over one smile at a time," Remy said. "Do all kinds of good deeds in front of the media to prove to the people that we're human too."

"And to stop any idiots that still want to continue the war," Rogue agreed.

"You are right about needing a PR agent," Scott said. "And I think I know the people we can use for this job…"


	11. Get The Message Out

**Get The Message Out**

"Thanks for seeing us on such short notice Evan," Scott said to his former team mate.

"No problem," Evan nodded. "Anything to help. Come on in." He motioned to a large half built building.

"So you're really going to build some kind of entertainment business here?" Rogue asked. She and Rocker were with Scott.

"You could say that," Evan grinned. They entered a room filled with equipment.

"Not just some kind of entertainment business," Solomon O'Sullivan snorted. He was at a desk working on a computer. "The first in hopefully a boom of mutant owned entertainment providers."

"This is our management team," Evan pointed to Sharon (Solomon's bat winged girlfriend) and Starla. "Sharon is in charge of legal. Starla is in charge of promotional plus co charge for talent."

"Talent?" Rogue asked.

"We're putting together a talent agency slash PR firm slash studio," Solomon explained. "Mutant talent. Mutant films. Mutant pride all the way. It'll be called X-Static Studios. Our slogan is the Next Evolution in Entertainment. Already got a couple of independent film makers making a few documentaries about mutants."

"Translation we gave some people a camera to chronicle mutant lives," Evan grinned. "I made one myself already."

"You're kidding me?" Scott blinked.

"I'm serious. It's on the web right now," Evan said. "Under Me Tube. It's called Born Different, A Mutant's Eye View. It's mostly mutants telling stories about their manifestation, how their families reacted and how they survived on the streets during the war."

"When did you do this?" Rogue asked.

"I've always been interested in making movies since that project back in high school," Evan admitted. "And while we were up in Avalon I got bored one day and started talking to some folks and they agreed to tell their stories for the camera. It was just an idea puttering around."

"Long story short, he told me. We found the film which survived the crash. Added a couple more mutants. Did some shots after M-Day. Did a little editing in a friend of a friend of a friend's studio…" Solomon shrugged. "Bada bing we got over two million hits on the site. Bada Boom its opening doors with legitimate studios. Small studios but with a lot of independent cred."

"And let's face it, the entertainment industry usually helps local economies," Rocker said.

"We're also going to put together our own television station with mutant news and mutant programming," Starla said. "I'm planning on being a reporter for it. I guess my dream of being the next Barbra Walters or Oprah may come true after all."

"Oh well, as long as you become famous I suppose it will be worth it," Scott said sarcastically. He still didn't like Starla.

"We have to find other ways to do this Cyclops," Starla said, her voice had a hard edge to it. "So no more of us have do die on a battlefield or…" She choked for a moment. "Entertainment is the way of the future. It's the best, most peaceful way for mutants to prove that we're not a threat. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do."

She left the room quickly. "I think I'd better help her…" Sharon sighed. "Come on Solomon." She and her boyfriend followed her.

"Well it's nice to see Starla bounced back on her feet so fast," Scott remarked.

"Scott…Don't be so judgmental of her," Evan said softly. "She's going through a hard time now. Her brother's death hit her harder than even she realized. And Roberto ain't exactly being all sympathetic."

"We're **all **having a hard time," Scott sighed. "Evan how are you holding up? I'm so sorry about Yvonne and your mother."

"Yeah well…I'm just getting through one day at a time for my kid," Evan sighed. "Ironically Starla's been a big help there."

"Starla with a baby?" Rogue scoffed.

"I have to admit I have a hard time seeing it too," Scott said.

"She's actually very good with him," Evan said. "It's hard to explain. There's a whole different side of her when it's just us. She's warm and giving…"

"For Starla to think of **anybody** but herself is different all right," Rogue snorted.

"Rogue she and I both lost people we cared about during the war," Evan said with a tone of anger. "I'm not saying anything is going on with us. I'm just saying we all need each other because we lost so much!"

"He's right. There's no time for petty bickering now," Rocker agreed. "Whatever problems we had are in the past. They don't matter anymore."

"What did you mean by the fact Roberto wasn't sympathetic to Starla?" Rogue thought of something.

"Well I shouldn't be telling you this but I suppose you'll hear about it sooner or later," Evan sighed. "For a while…Starla didn't believe her brother Static was dead. She was convinced that he was playing a practical joke on her and sooner or later he'd walk through the door and laugh at her."

"You're kidding?" Rogue was surprised.

"I wish I was," Evan sighed. "When she finally realized the truth it hit her hard."

"I didn't think Starla even **cared** about her brother," Rogue snorted. "Or anyone else besides herself."

"You're not exactly close to your mom but if she died…" Evan pointed out.

"If she died I'd throw a party," Rogue interrupted. "A **big** one."

"Okay maybe you're not the best example but family is family. And people react differently to death," Evan sighed. "Anyway long story short Roberto wasn't exactly patient with her even though she was more than patient and loyal to him. I mean with the whole experimented on by Factor One and brainwashing thing."

"I remember that," Scott frowned.

"They had a big fight and they both said stupid things and the next thing I know Roberto's heading off to his mother's and collect his inheritance," Evan sighed. "I gave Starla a job here and she threw herself into it. That and helping me out seems to have calmed her down."

"Roberto's mom is still alive?" Rogue asked.

"Apparently," Evan said. "He's still willing to fund our company even though Starla's a part of it now. I think there's some legitimate business his father owned so he's going to take over."

"Fine. Let Sunspot do something good for a change," Rogue grumbled. "I ain't exactly sorry to see that jerk go. And I knew there was no way in hell Starla was going to come back so…"

Just then Scott's phone rang. "Cyclops here," Scott answered it. It was a video phone and he could see Kitty's face. "What's new Kitty?"

"Bad news. I just got off the phone with SHIELD. They're not going to release Jean or Warren," Kitty told them. "They're saying they are going to keep them indefinitely because of security reasons."

"WHAT?" Scott shouted.

"Why does this **not **surprise me?" Rocker snarled.

"They can't do this! They promised those two would be released once…" Scott fumed.

"Calm down Scott," Rogue said. "This ain't over! I had a feeling those jerks would pull a stunt like this so I prepared for it. I'm gonna go make a call." She took out her cell phone and went off for some privacy.

"I'll call you back," Scott said. He shut the phone. "Damn it! I should have known Fury would try to double cross us!"

"If it isn't one damn thing it's another isn't it?" Rocker said to Scott. "If only humans would make half the effort to get along with us as we do with them."

"It's not just that," Scott said. "There are so many different factions between us mutants and heroes it's not funny. We have to figure out who is allied with who. Which group is in charge of what group? Which group is leaning towards Magneto? Who is on our side? Who is on **someone else's** side? And what the hell will SHIELD do for its advantage! It's insane!"

"Especially the fact that more criminals are willing to help us than so called heroes," Rocker nodded. "Trust is important to you isn't it Cyclops?"

"Of course it is. Without that we're nothing," Scott gave him a look.

Rocker gave him a calculated look. "I want this to work, Cyclops. I really do. That's why I think I am going to break one of my cardinal rules."

"What do you mean?" Scott frowned.

"Cyclops…" Rocker said. "You might want to go visit Fury today and talk about releasing Jean and Worthington. In fact you should go in half an hour."

"Why?" Scott asked.

"Because…" Rocker began. And he told Scott.

Scott was stunned. Then he realized he had a decision to make.

And he made it. _

"I want to thank you for coming with us today General," Scott spoke to General Whithalf as he flew the Velocity to SHIELD's floating headquarters.

"Well I am the Head of the Department of Mutant Affairs," Whithalf smirked. "The fate of two very powerful mutants does concern me as well."

"How can they keep Jean and Warren when they've been proven to be manipulated and are no longer under control?" Ororo asked. Rogue, Logan and Kitty were in the Velocity as well.

"SHIELD can make up a dozen half assed reasons to keep anybody locked up," Logan snarled. "Trust me, I know."

"There's nothing I can do for your friend Maddox," Whithalf sighed. "At least not yet. I tried to keep mutants being prosecuted for what happened during the war as much as possible."

"I know. There was just so much evidence against Multiple," Scott sighed. "Even you couldn't stop SHIELD from locking him up."

"They've taken him to a different facility than Phoenix and Archangel," Whithalf informed them.

"Don't you mean Angel?" Rogue asked.

"Apparently he changed his name to Archangel for some reason," Whithalf shrugged. "According to my files anyway. Anyway those two are being held directly on SHIELD's headquarters."

"Of course they are," Logan growled. "They're more important. Plus there's no way Fury is going to let any potential bargaining chips out of his sight."

"You don't think he would…" Ororo was shocked.

"I wouldn't put it past the man," Logan growled.

"Neither would I," Scott agreed. "Fury would love any leverage he has on us."

"Controlling the X-Men would be a real feather in his cap," Logan agreed.

"Really? Considering you lot are technically a feather in **mine **I find that rather rude," Whithalf frowned.

"I'd be insulted if I didn't know that you are the lesser between two…Well I wouldn't exactly call you evil, General," Rogue said. "Evil and…not really so evil."

"Oh I don't know, Rogue. I've done quite a few wicked things in my time," Whithalf remarked as they landed.

"Please, you're a freaking girl scout compared to Fury," Logan grunted.

"Cyclops, General Whithalf," Fury met them on the landing bay with two SHIELD Agents behind him. "Can't say I'm surprised. Wolverine what are you and the other X-Men doing here?"

"We're here for moral support," Logan quipped.

"Fury what's this I hear about Miss Grey not being released as well as Mr. Worthington?" Whithalf asked. "You do realize that as head of the Department of Mutant Affairs that I have the final say in these matters?"

"With all due respect General," Fury said. "There are extenuating circumstances."

"Such as?" Whithalf asked.

"For starters Worthington's involvement with Apocalypse," Fury said.

"Which was detailed in three different interviews conducted by three different parties and four different telepaths," Whithalf finished. "Two of which I know work for SHIELD and the others were Ms. Braddock and Ms. Frost. And all of them not only got all the information on Apocalypse they needed but confirmed without any doubt that the man was brainwashed. He was not responsible for what happened."

"**And** he was able to break his brainwashing and help out when the Sentinels attacked Washington DC on M-Day," Rogue spoke up.

"Those wings of his are also impressive technology," Fury said.

"Which you want to study like a lab rat," Logan growled. "As well as Jean."

"For crying out loud Wolverine, she has a cosmic force locked in her body!" Fury snapped. "You really think we're going to allow someone that powerful to run around loose?"

"Well if she really is so all powerful then why has she allowed herself to remain in custody?" Whithalf asked. "Think about it. If she wasn't on our side why doesn't she just break out?"

"Because she can't," Fury said. "In addition to the inhibitor collar she wears we placed her in a special cell."

"So technically she isn't all powerful," Kitty said. "Therefore she's not a threat."

"I didn't say that," Fury snapped.

"Well which is it Fury, it can't be both!" Scott snapped.

"Let's not beat around the bush. Those two mutants are extremely powerful. In the wrong hands they could be dangerous weapons as we saw on M-Day," Fury said.

"And you want them to be **your** weapons?" Ororo glared at him.

"This is nothing to do with if they're dangerous or not at all!" Rogue snapped. "You just want to use them for your own purposes!"

"The **X-Men** are now in charge of dealing with mutants, along with the Misfits," Scott said.

"Your department is barely functional as it is, never mind legal," Fury said. "I'm not so sure you have the facilities yet to deal with any problems. SHEILD however has more than adequate facilities and resources to handle any contingency. It's just common sense."

"Listen you one eyed weasel," Logan growled. "It's bad enough we had to hand over Multiple to you. But if you think that we're gonna let you take Jean and Wings too you've…"

Just then an alarm sounded. "What's going on?" Whithalf blinked.

Fury shrugged. "Nothing. Probably a drill."

Just then the entire helicarrier shook. "That don't feel like no drill," Rogue said.

"What the hell was that?" Logan was stunned.

"Nothing," Fury shrugged. "We're just testing some new equipment."

RRRRRURUMMMBBLLEEEEEEE!

The flying ship shook again, even more violently than last time. "What kind of equipment are you testing? A squadron of tanks?" Rogue shouted.

"It's nothing you need to be concerned about," Fury was unflappable. "As I was saying…"

RRRRUMMMBLEEEEE!

BOOOOOOOOM!

"If these shakes keep getting stronger I will be concerned!" Whithalf could barely stand. "Be concerned about staying in one piece!"

"Sir, we have…a problem," A SHIELD agent called in on Fury's communicator. "Our backup system S5 has malfunctioned!"

"What **kind** of malfunction?" Fury gritted his teeth.

"We don't know! They just started up for no reason and we can't…" The SHIELD Agent was cut off by a huge explosion.

That explosion created a huge hold in the SHIELD hangar bay. "What the hell…"

To Scott's horror he saw five giant robotic humanoid figures break out of the hold. Not as large as a usual Sentinel, because they could fit comfortably in the large hangar, but still big enough. "No…" He was shocked. "X-Men! Sentinels!"

"Oh crap," Fury winced. "This is not good."

"Sentinels? Are these the **resources** you were talking about?" Scott yelled at Fury.

"You son of a bitch!" Logan snarled as he shot out his claws. "I always knew you were a double crosser Fury! But this is too much even for **you!"**

"Deal with him **later!**" Kitty shouted as two of the Sentinels seemed to notice them. "Rogue! Toss and Slide! NOW!"

"Got ya Sugar!" Rogue grabbed Kitty by the arms and flew her to the closest Sentinel. "Get ready! Go!" She tossed Kitty straight to the Sentinel's head.

"Here I go!" Kitty phased into the head and slid downward, making sure she hit the vital circuitry areas.

While Kitty was using her phasing abilities to destroy one Sentinel, Scott and the others were using their powers on the other four. Logan hacked at one Sentinel's legs with his claws while Rogue used her super strength to punch it. Scott shot his optic blasts while dodging the laser blasts of the Sentinels. Ororo managed to grab Scott and flew him out of the way. While holding onto Scott Ororo sent some winds to topple the Sentinel back. Then Scott finished it off while it was off balance, cutting off its head with his optic blasts.

"Put me down you overgrown…" Logan growled as one Sentinel grabbed him and started to squeeze the life out of him. "ARRGGGH!"

Suddenly the Sentinel started to malfunction. It dropped Logan but he couldn't manage to get away from the falling body of the Sentinel. He prepared to be crushed to death, but found that he wasn't.

"Face it," Kitty grinned as she held onto Logan. "What would you do without me?" She helped him escape the fallen machine.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Tactical retreat engaged," One of the Sentinels intoned as it blew open the hangar doors. It and the other surviving Sentinel flew out of the hole.

"We got three but the other two are outside!" Rogue shouted as she flew after them. "Damn it! They're headed for New York City!"

As luck would have it SHIELD's floating headquarters was currently positioned just outside of New York City Harbor, safely hidden amid a mix of real and fake clouds created by a special funnels on the outside of the base.

"**Of course** this would happen!" Logan groaned. "GREAT! Why not have a whole bunch of civilian targets running around?"

"This is **definitely** not good," Fury gritted his teeth.

"No kidding!" Whithalf yelled.

"Storm! Create a huge waterspout to trap them in!" Scott ordered as Ororo dropped him. "Then fry them with your lighting!"

Ororo nodded and used her powers as she flew after the Sentinels. She created a huge waterspout using the ocean water and managed to catch the two Sentinels just before they reached the harbor. Then she created a large lightning bolt frying the systems of the machines.

"Nothing like a huge electrical short to take out a wet Sentinel," Rogue whooped.

"Yeah good thing they haven't made a waterproof Sentinel yet," Scott remarked as the Sentinels exploded and were destroyed. "Is that all of them?"

"All five. Ain't that enough?" Rogue grumbled as Ororo returned to the hangar.

"Hey it wouldn't be a day in the life of an X-Man if we didn't trash some tin cans before dinner," Kitty remarked.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna trash **someone else**!" Logan snarled. "A certain one eyed weasel!"

"Good job X-Men," Whithalf breathed a sigh of relief. "You stopped those things from attacking the city."

"Yes but not from being exposed to the public," Fury groaned as he could already see hundreds of people taking pictures of the wreckage with cameras and cell phones on the pier. "Our security has been compromised!"

"You're lucky your damn security is the **only thing** that was compromised!" Rogue shouted.

Scott whirled on Fury. "You had **Sentinels?** You were keeping _**Sentinels**_ online?"

"_Resources_ huh?" Rogue snarled. "**This **is how you were going to handle out of control mutants? You didn't learn a damn thing from M-Day at all didn't you?"

"I know how this must look," Fury let out a breath.

"Look? You're worried about how this **looks**?" Logan roared. "You have a lot more to worry about than looks Fury!"

"What the hell possessed you to keep **Sentinels** on your base in operating condition?" Scott yelled. "And don't give me any crap about national security or orders from above! What the hell were you thinking?"

"Are you mad?" Ororo yelled. "You saw for yourself the damage they did on M-Day! In San Francisco, New York and other attacks! How could you do **that?" **

"**Tell us, **Fury. Because I'd _love _to hear your explanation on this one!" Logan folded his arms. "I always knew you'd back your own interests instead of ours but even I didn't think you'd stoop this low! Not after what happened a few weeks ago!"

"Look we had orders from higher up," Fury said. "A lot of people aren't sure that this thing with the X-Men being in charge of the mutant registration will work so…"

"In other words you'd sooner trust a group of genocidal machines over mutants!" Scott threw up his arms. "That's so insane it's…Fury, if you think I am going to let this go you are…"

"I'm sorry Cyclops but you don't have a say in…." Fury began.

"The hell I don't!" Scott shouted. "What would have happened if we weren't here to stop them Fury? Well if you think you had a PR problem before that is **nothing** compared to what I will unleash if you don't cooperate!"

"You have no authority to force SHIELD to…" Fury began.

"**I **have the authority! Not only has head of the Department of Mutant Affairs but as a high ranking general! Quite frankly Fury, I'm with Cyclops on this!" General Whithalf snarled. "You, Cyclops and I are going straight to the office of the President of the United States where you will give a very detailed report to all of us who ordered those Sentinels and for what reason you decided to go along with it!"

"Busted," Kitty grinned and folded her arms.

"Big time," Logan smirked.

Whithalf stepped closer to Fury and glared at him. "You want to **challenge** that order Fury? Go ahead! See what happens if you do!"

"Who gave the order Fury? Tell us!" Scott barked. "It's the least you can do!"

"The very least," Logan grunted.

"It's not that simple," Fury was frustrated. "There are a lot of people that still don't trust…"

"**You **don't trust **us?**" Rogue shouted. "How many times do we have to save your stinking asses before you do?"

"I trust them a hell of a lot more than I trust **you** right now," Whithalf snarled at Fury.

"Sir I can't…" Fury tried to protest.

"Oh yes you **can** and you know it!" Whithalf snapped. "I'm not just some wet behind the ears colonel who just got his first star yesterday you know? You **know** who I work with. You **know** the people I know. And you know what power I possess both in the military and in **other** circles. And I am a high ranking member of many circles that not only have the authority to override you decisions but to cut SHIELD's budget so low you'd think you were getting your equipment from Wal-Mart! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," Fury let out a breath. "Extremely clear sir."

"Oh and one more thing," Whithalf said. "I am officially ordering you to release Jean Grey and Warren Worthington the Third from SHIELD custody! Immediately! Understand?"

"But…" Fury began.

"**Now** Fury," Whithalf growled. "I'm waiting!"

Fury let out a breath. "Fury here," He spoke in his communicator. "Jenkins I need you to start processing the release of Jean Grey and Warren Worthington the Third. AKA Phoenix and Archangel."

"But sir…" Jenkins could be heard. "You said…"

"I **know** what I said! That is an **order** Lieutenant!" Fury barked.

"Yes sir. Right away sir," Jenkins spoke.

"And get a cleanup crew to…" Fury began.

"Oh no," Whithalf said as he took out a Blackberry and quickly pushed some texts through. "There is no way in Hell I am allowing SHIELD to pick up its toys! I'm calling the Army and some friends in the Navy to pick up those things and dismantle them immediately! Then the three of us are going to go straight to the White House where you can explain to the President all about this little debacle!"

"Now?" Scott realized that he wasn't going to be there when Jean was released.

"We'll get Jean and Warren," Rogue said. "You take care of what you have to do."

"Totally got your back Scott," Kitty nodded.

"We will make sure that Jean and Warren will be safe and free," Ororo smiled.

"They'll be back home in Bayville before you," Logan nodded. "Right Fury?"

"Yes but first we have to secure the Sentinels and…" Fury began.

"Again **my** people will handle it," Whithalf told him. "Not to mention the spin we'll give the press."

"How are you going to explain Sentinels in New York City Harbor?" Rogue asked.

"Simple. We'll put out a statement saying that a rogue government agency was holding onto operational Sentinels against the orders of the President, which is technically the truth," Whithalf snorted. "We won't say **which** rogue agency of course but I'm pretty sure the media can put two and two together."

"And that the X-Men were assisting the government in tracking down and destroying these unauthorized Sentinels before any damage could be done," Scott added.

"To which we accomplished our mission rather successfully," Kitty smirked. "That **will **be mentioned in the papers, right General?"

"Many times Shadowcat," Whithalf smiled. "In fact I will personally go on television later praising the efficient job the X-Men have done today and state that this proves that the X-Men are an important and vital part of our new national security protocols."

Whithalf turned to Fury. "So if I were you Fury I would choose what words I would say to the President of the United States very carefully."

"I almost wish I could go too," Kitty said to Scott. "Just to see Fury get what's coming to him."

"Try to take pictures if you can," Logan smirked.

"I don't think they'll let me but I'll tell you all about it," Scott gave him a look. He then went with Whithalf and Fury into a SHIELD private jet to fly to Washington DC.

The meeting with the President of the United States had been interesting. Once Whithalf and Scott made their report on the incident, the Commander in Chief turned his wrath on Fury. It was all Scott could do to keep his self-control and not smile as he watched the leader of SHIELD get his ass handed to him. And when Fury tried to tell the President that some decisions outranked his, it just made matters worse.

"You outrank me? You outrank the **President of the United States?** I don't think so!" The President snapped.

"Sir when it comes to the safety of this country…" Fury began.

"Don't give me that crap, Fury. I am your Commander In Chief. Safety of the American People is my **number one priority!"** The President interrupted. "And quite frankly the fact that you had some of those killing machines in your possession and they were still operational does not make me feel like my country is any safer!"

The President glared at Fury. "Let me put it to you in the simplest terms possible, Fury. Either you cooperate with me or I will find someone else to run SHIELD. Or better yet, dismantle SHIELD completely! And trust me, I **do** have the authority to do that! I checked! Am I clear?"

"Very clear, Sir," Fury looked chastised.

"Now who authorized you to have those Sentinels?" The President asked.

"The Sub Committee on Superhuman Affairs," Fury admitted.

"We have a Sub Committee of Superhuman Affairs?" The President was stunned. "This is the first I've heard about it."

"I have heard rumors about it," Whithalf held up his hand. "There are rumors that some of the Jugglers and many Senators and a few businessmen have come together in a vested interest of studying both mutations and all other types of paranormal or superhuman activity. However I was never able to prove it existed, even with all my connections."

"So who is on this committee?" The President asked.

"I…don't know all of them sir," Fury said.

"But you know enough of them," Whithalf gave him a look. "Tell us!"

"I'll…look into my files and give you a list," Fury said hesitantly.

"Better yet I'll look in those files with you and **make** that list!" Whithalf snarled.

"Excellent. General I am giving you complete authority to investigate and uncover this little cover up," The President said. "You have all authority to check out any secret, top secret and ultra-secret files SHIELD has in order to get to the bottom of this. And you Fury will give him your complete co-operation. Is that clear?"

"Very clear sir," Fury nodded.

"If you don't mind I'd like to speak to Cyclops alone before I tear you a few more new ones Fury," The President said. "General Whithalf if you don't mind?"

"Of course Mister President," Whithalf saluted respectfully before escorting Fury into the hallways outside.

When they were alone the President sat down at his desk and sighed. "Cyclops…Mr. Summers. First I want to say that I am very grateful for what you and your team have done today."

"Just doing our jobs Mister President," Scott told him.

"It goes beyond that and we both know it. Even if many citizens of this country are not grateful for your work to bring peace between humans and mutants I am," The President said. "Tonight I am going to go live on television and state that this office had no idea about what happened and I will make it perfectly clear that the United States will no longer tolerate any type of Sentinel program whatsoever. Not just now, but in the future. I expect a bill putting that into law by the end of the week and I would appreciate it if you were there to watch me sign it."

"I would be honored to Mister President," Scott nodded.

The President sighed. "I am very sorry you had to go through that again Mr. Summers. God willing you never have to. After what happened at M-Day you and the X-Men and other mutants deserve better than that."

"I only wish it would be the last time," Scott sighed. "But history has taught me that is wishful thinking. I'm not saying our government would be behind future attacks but…"

"Yes I know," The President sighed. "I don't envy your job Mr. Summers."

"It isn't an easy one but I do believe it is worthwhile," Scott said. "Most mutants want peace Mr. President. They want to be contributing citizens of this country. They just don't want to be weapons."

"Like your Miss Grey?" The President asked.

"The Phoenix entity is completely sealed within her," Scott said. "It wasn't her fault that she was possessed."

"I'm not saying it was. As it turned out Miss Grey having the Phoenix inside her wasn't such a bad thing after all," The President said. "From what I understand this 'Dark Phoenix' is something like a separate personality."

"That's the gist of it," Scott said. "It emerged after Jean witnessed the brutal murder of her entire family."

"Yes, I suppose that could disturb anyone," The President sighed.

"Mr. President Jean isn't the Phoenix even though she still has that codename," Scott said. "We've had our best people working with her and with the X-Men around her we can make sure the Dark Phoenix never gets out again."

"But there is a chance it could?" The President asked.

"There's always a chance of anything happening," Scott said. "Like Sentinels attacking New York City again. But we stopped it. And we'll stop it again."

"That you did."

"As for the Dark Phoenix, you know that even if Jean was destroyed that wouldn't destroy the Phoenix Force. It would only set it free and cause more damage," Scott said. "But keeping her imprisoned is not an option. The Dark Phoenix personality feeds on negative emotions."

"And being locked up in a prison separated from you and her friends would definitely set it off," The President concluded.

"Even if you put her in stasis sooner or later the Dark Phoenix would break free," Scott said. "Probably sooner. Especially since one needs some conscious control in order to contain the…personality. Mr. President from what little I understand about cosmic forces is that only God can completely control them. But the X-Men can come pretty close."

"I've read some of your files on some of your…more unusual encounters," The President remarked.

"That's putting it mildly," Scott said. "Sometimes I think we're some kind of lightning rod absorbing all the insanity of the universe. On the up side, it's made us prepared for anything."

"I have no doubt," The President nodded. "You and your X-Men have certainly proven yourselves in the past few months to be trustworthy. More trustworthy than some of my own people."

"And you can count on us to take care of mutant related problems in this country," Scott said. "As we speak we're already rebuilding the Institute. Soon Cerebro will be fully operational. Once we all have the Institute rebuilt and the protocols in place we can start training the next batch of young mutants to use their powers responsibly."

"I have no doubt at all you will train mutants to use their powers responsibly," The President said. "However when it comes to the Phoenix…A lot of people are worried. And I'd be lying if I didn't say I was one of them."

"Sir, SHIELD's own psychological exams prove that Jean is herself again," Scott said. "Even when she was under Dark Phoenix's control…Jean was fighting to keep that power reigned in. We both know if it wasn't for her…Things would have gotten out of control a lot faster and much more damage could have been done."

"It says a lot about her character that she did as little damage as she could have," The President sighed.

"Technically it's not even Dark Phoenix anymore. It's been submerged and reprogrammed so to speak," Scott said. "Long story short we had our telepaths do a personality change. This new personality is a lot less destructive."

"Can't be hard to be less destructive than an all-powerful cosmic forced that can destroy everything," The President said. "The fact is it's still a powerful force, no matter what personality it has."

Scott knew he had another card to play. "It's also a fact that if it wasn't for the Phoenix Force we might be under attack by not just the Shi'ar Empire, but several others. She all but destroyed the Shi'ar Empress and their army. Put the fear of God into at least three other empires."

"In other words if any alien power decides to attack the Earth again we have a huge trump card," The President said. "I admit SHIELD hasn't given me half the information I requested about all these outer space aliens they've been trying to keep a lid on. But from what little I know most of them think the Phoenix is some kind of Boogeyman. Uh…Bogeywoman."

"Now that the Phoenix Personality has turned from the dark to the light side, the more that it experiences life on Earth the more likely it will protect it should the need arise," Scott told him.

"Well that's just common sense," The President nodded.

"I share your fears about the Dark Phoenix returning and getting out of control again. And so does Jean. And we along with the X-Men and Misfits will do all we can to make sure it never happens again," Scott told him. "Hopefully this time the psychic barriers we put in place will stick."

"I hope so too. Especially since according to what I've read Miss Grey is now immortal," The President groaned. "Mutants, vampires, were animals and aliens were weird enough. But now immortal mutants?"

"We prefer to call it a terminal healing factor," Scott coughed. "Sounds a lot more…"

"Believable?" The President gave Scott a look.

"Plausible," Scott admitted. "Same difference but still…"

"And this Apocalypse? Is he locked away for good?"

"Until he figures out how to break out of the dimension Benny Barumpbump locked him in," Scott said. "Which hopefully won't be for a long time. If ever."

"Well at least you managed to get rid of some major threats to the Earth," The President sighed. "Magneto is not gone but at the very least he's exiled himself to an island. And I know if and when he steps out of line your team will take care of him. Mr. Summers you and your X-Men have done more for this planet than anyone I can think of. Even the Avengers. You saved our lives several times over. So I think that entitles you to some trust by this government."

"Thank you sir. As we speak Jean and Warren are being released," Scott said. "If you don't mind I'd like to welcome them home."

"Of course," The President got up and shook Scott's hand. "Thank you again Mr. Summers for all the work that you and your X-Men do."

Scott felt like he could fly right there and then. The X-Men were finally valued by the government for their work. Jean was finally free and they could be together.

But first Scott had to make one more stop…

"I take it everything went well," Rocker said as Scott entered his tent.

"Interesting choice of words," Scott gave him a look. "How did you know about the Sentinels SHIELD had?"

"We have people on the inside too," Rocker smirked. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you everything but…"

"I'm getting real tired of hearing those excuses!" Scott interrupted with a growl. "I take it you used some kind of technopath?"

"Yes and no. A technopath helped start the operation but another mutant with different powers did most of the work. Technically the technopath assisted, but was not responsible. And all my technopaths have alibis for when it went down."

"Very convenient," Scott folded his arms.

"It had to be done Cyclops. You and I both know those things were going to malfunction sooner or later," Rocker said. "This way they were under our control and the only thing that got hurt was SHIELD's headquarters and Fury's pride."

"They felt pretty real while we were fighting them," Scott said.

"We had to make it look good, didn't we? Besides if worst came to worst we had a self-destruct sequence code planted," Rocker explained.

"Well you just thought of **everything **didn't you?" Scott remarked.

"Are you sorry that we did what we did?" Rocker asked calmly.

"No," Scott said without hesitation. "You're right. It would have happened sooner or later. At least this way we were able to control the outcome."

"I know this was difficult for you and I'm sorry that you were…" Rocker began.

"I'm not sorry and no it was not **that** difficult," Scott said. "I'm just angry right now. Not at you…At Fury. SHIELD. The Government…At one time I would have been but…Now I know you did what you had to do. At least you gave me some warning beforehand."

"I almost didn't," Rocker said. "But I want to trust you Cyclops. I want this partnership to work. There's too much at stake…"

"I know…But in the future…I don't want you or any of your people to **ever** pull a stunt like that again," Scott said.

"Hopefully we won't have to," Rocker said. "But face it. Even after M-Day the world still needed a wakeup call to how dangerous Sentinels are. Now that we've proven even SHIELD isn't invulnerable to them…"

"SHIELD was only looking out for their own interests!" Scott snarled. "As usual. They didn't even lift a finger until the Mardies threatened them. The only reason they suggested the mutant sanctuary in San Francisco was to undercut Wraith so SHIELD wouldn't be out of a job. We can't count on them to help us. They only help themselves and their own twisted agenda."

"Funny about that," Rocker said. "They say they do the things they do to protect the people but they seem to have a bad habit of hurting the majority of the people they are supposed to protect. They are way too eager to risk innocent civilian lives along with the guilty ones."

"That's a funny statement coming from the former head of the MLF," Scott said.

"I always made sure that any hits were done quietly and quickly with no unnecessary casualties and that they be made to look like an accident," Rocker pointed out. "I don't do mass murder for any cause. Besides after all the damage the X-Men have done over the years can you honestly say you have the right to judge me?"

"No, I don't," Scott admitted and looked away.

"We pulled off a major victory today," Rocker said. "As we speak Fury is being called on the carpet and you can bet your ass that no government official will ever make the mistake of voting for a project like that again. Especially after all the news reports we made sure were circulated on the net."

"Not to mention that the President is now aware of the Sub Committee of Superhuman Affairs," Scott said.

"I was wondering when they'd make a mistake and get called into the light," Rocker smirked. "Do you need a list?"

"You know who's on the committee?" Scott was stunned.

"Most of them," Rocker said. "A lot of them were members of the FOH and Purity. And the rest are part of something called Project Pegasus. It wasn't hard to figure out after we hacked into those groups' files."

"Yeah well…Maybe I might fill in some gaps. If you promise there won't be any more 'accidents' in the future," Scott told him.

"Of course not. However if their illegal activities were somehow leaked to the press…" Rocker shrugged.

"Okay. **That** I can live with," Scott said. "Just don't get caught."

"That won't be the problem. Now comes the hard part," Rocker let out a breath. "We need to prove to the world that mutants are the good guys. That's why I've been lobbying so hard to find good humans to move to Bayville. The only way this is going to work is if Bayville becomes a shining example of humans and mutants coexisting."

"Why do I have the feeling that the X-Men and Misfits will not have as many headaches in that department as you do?" Scott gave him a look.

"There's still some bad blood among my people who have been kicked in the teeth more than enough times by humans to just forget it," Rocker admitted. "But I'm pretty sure most of them will toe the line."

"Most of them?"

"Well most that wouldn't have already gone with Magneto so…" Rocker said. "They knew what they're getting into and I made sure they had an option so things would be smoother down the road. Then again you never know completely with mutants. Or humans. I've already had some **lovely** phone calls from mayors of nearby towns and cities."

"I can imagine," Scott sighed. "Little wonder half the town wants to rebuild the walls around Bayville."

"The walls on the east side aren't as damaged and I'm having some of my people fix those," Rocker said. "There's more populated towns on the other side so it might not be a bad idea for us to have some protection there."

"And you've got a host of other bureaucratic headaches, am I right?"

"And how. So many different factors and what ifs and…Well you get the idea," Rocker waved.

"All the loose ends and the lies…" Scott said. "Trying to keep the world together by using tricks and lies. We're no better than SHIELD and the Illuminati."

"We're **nothing** like those jokers," Rocker said. "We have no interest in ruling the world or fixing everything that's wrong with it. We just want to survive and have a decent life. It's not like we have some kind of secret society and we're guarding some kind of mystic rock with incredible power or anything like that…"

"No, we're not…" Scott said. _Technically the Misfits are_…He thought to himself.

"Taking out the Sentinels is our top priority," Rocker told him. "Even if we do convince the government to throw out their Sentinels who's to say some other government won't use 'em?"

"I'm just going to have to keep getting the message out," Scott said. "You worry about Bayville. Any more info your guys get on Sentinels I want you to give to me. Got it?"

"Got it," Rocker nodded. "Quite frankly it's a bit of a relief to pass this off. I got enough crap to deal with without worrying about Sentinels."

"Good," Scott nodded. "I just wanted to make sure we both know where we stand on this."

"Summers listen to me," Rocker said. "There are humans willing and worthy enough to be true allies. I know. I've met quite a few of them in my time. Some of them gave their lives to help us. But the majority of humans are still our enemies. We can't make the same mistakes Xavier made by blindly trusting them to do the right thing."

"That's true," Scott said. "But we also can't make the same mistakes Magneto made by making every human our enemy."

"There needs to be balance," Rocker agreed. "But from what I've seen with the exception of Whithalf and the Joes as far as I'm concerned every member of the military and the government is a potential enemy. Be careful of them."

"I'm not a fool, Rocker," Scott's eyes narrowed beneath his visor. "I remember the whole Power 8 debacle very clearly. If the Professor had just stayed on top of Spears and not just trusted him to do the right thing, everything that went down would never have happened. The murder. The trial. The riots. All the chaos and insanity that followed. I'm not going to make that same mistake. Any government or person, human or mutant that has a weapon that could potentially destroy us the X-Men are going to watch. Like a hawk."

"Like we did today," Rocker said. "We did what we had to do and no lives were lost because of it. And maybe we saved a lot more lives because of what we did. That is the important thing."

Scott gave him a look. "You really had a self-destruct code implanted in those Sentinels?"

"Of course we did," Rocker said. "I personally told our operative to put that in first before taking full control. But you were perfectly safe the whole time. The Sentinels were programmed to miss their targets by a fraction. Just enough to make it look real."

"How did you know…?" Scott asked. "You weren't there."

"Didn't have to be. Between satellite signals my crew hijacked and some very willing telepaths and our secret operative in SHIELD I knew everything that went on," Rocker said. "I suppose you'd want to know who is our operative in SHIELD?"

"Honestly…no…" Scott let out a breath.

"Deniability. Very good. You're learning. As I had to learn. My mutant powers may not be as great as Magneto's or Xavier's," Rocker said. "But when it comes to strategy those two are rank amateurs compared to me. The greatest power a mutant has is his brain, Cyclops. Never forget that."

"Magneto and Apocalypse could take lessons from you on how get things done," Scott admitted. "I'm glad you never joined them."

"Apocalypse may have been a genius in his time but this is our time now and he's just another blowhard bully looking for power," Rocker told him. "And let's face it, Magneto isn't that much better."

"Oh and you don't want power?" Scott gave him a look.

"And give up all **this**? Please!" Rocker snorted as he indicated the tent. "Besides, I have a vision of great things for Bayville. This town is going to become that beacon of hope if I have to stomp it down the throats of every person in this joint."

"Just don't stomp too hard," Scott warned. "Or you will end up like Magneto and Apocalypse."

"Sometimes Good and Evil need to go hand in hand," Rocker said. "The world operates in shades of gray. You know this."

"Yeah well there are all different shades of gray," Scott said. "Some darker than others. I don't want to get in too dark."

"Then keep remembering what we are fighting for," Rocker said. "Who knows? A couple hundred years from now mutant kids will look back on this time and think of us like the founding fathers. Building a new and better world."

"Or as the time where we screwed up royally," Scott pointed out.

"Hopefully it will be the former and not the latter," Rocker said. "But I feel optimistic about our chances. With the two of us working together things will be better."

"I can't help but be reminded of another partnership that started out with two mutants with very different ideologies worked together," Scott told him.

"Again we are neither Xavier nor Magneto," Rocker said. "For those two it was always all or nothing. No room for compromise. Fortunately for you my ego is not that great. Despite what some of my enemies will tell you."

"That's good to know," Scott remarked sarcastically.

"You don't want me or my people to kill anyone even if they deserve it fine," Rocker went on. "Keep the violence to a minimum. Done. Work hard to integrate into a world that fears and hates us, got ya. But I need you to share your power. I don't mean all that stuff with Cerebro and policing the mutants. I need to know you have my back as the authority in this town."

"What do you mean exactly?" Scott asked.

"Mutants need to get back into government as soon as possible. Don't get me wrong being Mayor has its perks but I'm not planning on staying here forever," Rocker said. "I have other ambitions in mind."

"Like what? You want to be president?"

"Maybe not **that** far. A senator would be nice," Rocker said. "I get this town up and running it's not only good for mutant human relations, it'll be good for my campaign."

"You in government?" Scott groaned.

"Do you have **anyone else** in mind? A _better_ candidate?" Rocker asked. "Shadowcat? Iceman? _Shirley_?"

"Oh God no…" Scott groaned. "I see what you mean."

"You could always run," Rocker said.

"Not in a million years," Scott said.

"Maybe we can convince Gambit? I mean Washington DC is full of crooks already. What's one more thief?" Rocker added. "Or Rogue. Or Avalanche or Toad or…Nightcrawler and Pyro have their citizenship right?"

"I get it! I get it!" Scott snapped. "There's not exactly that many candidates!"

"Not in **this** generation, no," Rocker sighed. "Maybe the next one we'll get lucky. Or you can teach them."

"I guess there's no choice is there?" Scott sighed. "We have to think of what's best for mutant kind in the long run. And like it or not, somebody in power who knows what they are doing is a good idea."

"And we have to work together," Rocker told him. "And we have to **compromise.** I'm willing if you are."

"All right," Scott let out a breath. "I'm going to try and trust you."

"And I'm going to try not to take advantage of that," Rocker smiled. "Well not too much anyway. Now go see that girlfriend of yours. You've earned it."

"We've all earned a little peace after all the madness we've been through," Scott let out a breath. "But that doesn't guarantee we'll get it."

"Then we're just going to have to **make it** won't we?" Rocker grinned.


	12. Getting Together Again

**Getting Together Again**

While Scott and the others were handling things with the Sentinels, Emma Frost was dealing with her own emotional turmoil. Although you wouldn't know it on the outside. She still maintained her calm, distracted facade as she walked through the hallway of the Misfit hideout in Japan.

Inside she was nervous.

She almost caught her breath as she went into the room and saw her adopted daughter Catseye tidying up a playroom. "Sharon…" Emma let out a breath.

"Mother! Mother it is so good to see you!" Catseye bounded over to Emma and hugged her.

"Well you know I was just in the neighborhood of rural Japan…" Emma admitted. "I just thought I'd come see you when Althea went to make her report to her clan leaders."

"Do you have news? When will the homes be ready for the younger ones to come live in Bayville?" Catseye asked as she let her mother go.

"Well the orphanage for mutants is still in the planning stages but we have found homes for several of the younger mutants and once they're built…But I haven't come here for that. I'm sorry," Emma let out a breath, allowing herself to show genuine emotion for once. "I'm sorry I haven't been here for you lately…"

"No Mother, Catseye sorry. Catseye should have come visit sooner but …" She choked.

"You're apologizing to **me**?" Emma was stunned. "Oh my dear Sharon. How lucky I am to have a daughter such as you." She hugged Catseye again.

"Catseye admits…things have been…" Catseye sighed. "Catseye has been trying to be busy…so…"

"So you wouldn't think about everyone you lost," Emma sighed. "I know. I've been doing the same thing. And in the process I've…I just couldn't see you before because then I would have been reminded of not only Yvonne but all my other students that I lost. All those lives…all that wasted potential…gone."

"Catseye understands. Did the same thing. But Catseye selfish…Not thinking of sister as much as…" She choked up a little.

"Foresight? Oh Sharon that's not selfish at all. That's human. And in this case I don't mean it as an insult," Emma held her adopted daughter's chin. "You are allowed to grieve for the ones you love in any way you wish."

"Foresight and Catseye were just starting to be a couple…" She let out a breath. "Nothing too major but it hurts so much. Now he is gone and…Part of Catseye feels guilty for staying here when…"

"Don't feel guilty. You had to stay here to protect the young ones. And Foresight…He had another destiny to fulfill. Foresight died not just for mutant kind, but for you," Emma said. "He gave his life so that you as well as others would live. That is more than any of my paramours have done for me."

"Catseye knows. Knows he was always sorry for what he did and maybe now he is at peace now," Catseye sighed. "Catseye found letter in his room. He knew he was going to die. He said he was willing to do it for me. Besides even though we were dating we were not…intimate."

"I see," Emma nodded.

"It is not just him Catseye truly misses…" The cat girl sighed. "Sister. Oh my poor sister. And her poor baby all motherless now…"

"Maybe but that child will **not **be neglected by either of us," Emma vowed. "I promise you Sharon. And not just the baby. We are all the family we have now. It's just the two of us now."

"Not exactly," Catseye smirked. "Mother remember, Catseye have many other sisters now!"

"Other…" Emma blinked. And then the sound of little feet coming in reminded her. She felt a tiny intrusive prick into her mind. "Girls. It is not nice to spy on me." She turned around and saw five identical little girls with blonde hair, pigtails and white dresses behind her.

"Oh that's right. You don't know their names," Catseye spoke and pointed to each of them. "They are Phoebe, Sophie, Eseme, Mindee, and Celeste."

"Mindee?" Emma blinked.

"With two ee's," Catseye explained.

"Who named them?" Emma was a bit stunned.

"Dark Beast or Magneto. Probably," Catseye shrugged. "Those are the names they gave Catseye."

"Catseye…" Phoebe chirped as she and Sophie toddled up to them. Their sisters weren't far behind.

"They love their big sister," Catseye purred as two of them hugged her. "We spend so much time together."

"That's right…" The implications of what had been done with her DNA hit Emma. "I am their mother. They have my DNA."

"Both you and Jean mothers," Catseye pointed out. "Made of both you and Jean!"

"We have two mommies," Phoebe spoke.

"Oh…goody," Emma sighed. "Just when I thought the future of mutant kind wasn't weird and insane enough…"

"Mother you must be nice to Jean now," Catseye told her.

"God a fate worse than death indeed," Emma sighed. "But you are right. Her DNA as well as mine are in the girls."

"Like it or not we are all family now," Catseye smirked.

"Can't be any worse than my original family," Emma moaned. "Thank God they're all dead."

"You never told Catseye about them," Catseye blinked.

"Trust me. The less you know about the majority of my family the better," Emma sighed. "Anyway that's all behind me now. You and your sisters and my…Yvonne's son are my family now."

"Your grandson," Mindee chirped. "Your daughter's son is your grandson!"

"Grandma Emma!" Sophie chirped.

"Grandma Emma! Grandma Emma!" The quintuplets cheered loudly.

"It's official," Emma moaned. "My life is doomed…"

Back in Bayville…

It was just after Scott had had his talk with Rocker. He was back on the institute grounds right behind the new construction of the building. That was where he saw her.

It was Jean, his Jean. She stood there long red hair behind her, wearing a yellow top and jeans with sandals. It was almost like they were back in high school again. A period in time that seemed a million years away from now.

And yet his heart leapt like it was just yesterday. Just like the first time he saw her. The first time he spoke to her.

The first time he fell in love with her.

They ran to each other and embraced. He felt his mind merge with hers as his lips touched hers, their psychic bond once again reconnecting and it was joyous. He felt her pain and loneliness of her long imprisonment. First by Phoenix and then of SHIELD. And her joy of being free and with him again.

"Jean…" Scott let out a breath he felt he'd been holding for a lifetime.

"Scott…I am so sorry for what happened," Jean looked into his eyes. "The things I did. Especially to you…"

"It doesn't matter now," Scott told her.

"Yes it does…" Jean sighed.

"Jean you can't blame yourself for what happened when Dark Phoenix possessed you," Scott said. "We are talking about an all-powerful cosmic entity here. Even the Professor couldn't handle it alone. If anything I think you were in control enough to make sure things didn't get worse."

"Well I wasn't **that** in control…" Jean let out a breath. "There's a reason SHIELD wanted to keep me locked up. Scott do you remember when I…When Dark Phoenix brainwashed you?"

"Honestly…A lot of what happened then is pretty fuzzy," Scott said.

"So you don't remember **anything?**" Jean asked hopefully.

"Bits and pieces but mostly it's all a blur," Scott said. "Why?"

"Well I remember…" Jean let out a breath. "And apparently…Um…I don't know how to tell you this."

"Just say it Jean. We've been through so much there's nothing that can happen that we can't get through," Scott held her hand.

"Okay here it goes…" Jean looked into Scott's eyes. "I'm pregnant."

"Come again?" Scott blinked.

"I'm pregnant," Jean said. "When I was Dark Phoenix you and I…"

"How? I mean I know how but **when?**" Scott was stunned.

"I guess we must have had a few minutes before the whole M-Day thing blew up in our faces," Jean shrugged. "To be honest it's a bit fuzzy for me too. But I do know we…Well Phoenix did **something**."

"What do you mean did **something?**" Scott asked. "You're not suggesting what I **think **you're suggesting are you?"

"No! I mean, we definitely…I mean you and I…" Jean was flustered. "However I think while we…Dark Phoenix deliberately used us so she could…put part of herself in there."

"Like a backup plan?" Scott asked.

"Essentially," Jean sighed. "Even though I'm only a few weeks pregnant I can already feel a separate part of the Phoenix Force inside of me and…Let's just say the tests the doctor did confirmed it."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked.

"While they were doing tests…I sort of got a little nervous and…" Jean admitted. "My stomach melted the ultrasound machine."

"**Melted **it?"

"Melted it."

"That's not good is it?" Scott blinked.

"Sinister always said any children we had would be powerful," Jean sighed. "I don't think even he thought they would be **this** powerful."

"And that made SHIELD nervous," Scott groaned. "No wonder they didn't want to let you go."

"Scott I know that this is a lot to take in right now," Jean wrapped her arms around her. "I mean how do you think I feel?"

"I know. I mean, you must really be…It's just…" Scott sighed. "Just once I'd like to have a kid and not be under mind control while it happened. Or part of some cloning experiment."

"Yeah…" Jean sighed.

"I'm not blaming **you.** In fact I'm happy that it was you in a way but still…" Scott let out a breath.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say that part of me wasn't exactly thrilled about this either," Jean said. "But this baby is still ours. No matter what the circumstances."

"I know. And I am happy. A little," Scott hugged her. "It's just uh…"

"I know. Dark Phoenix screwed both of us. Literally," Jean groaned. "But I do want this baby. It is half yours after all."

"Well I always wanted to have a family with you," Scott said. "I was just kind of hoping to propose to you first and then you know? Have it the traditional way?"

"Scott I think by now we should know that nothing about our lives will either be normal or traditional," Jean said. "You really want to marry me?"

"For as long as I've known you," Scott said as he kissed her. "You know I had a plan for this? I was going to take you somewhere romantic. Have dinner. Get a ring. The whole get down on one knee and propose bit."

"That would have been lovely. And so romantic," Jean smiled.

"Yeah. Proposing to you behind a construction site isn't exactly my idea of romance," Scott groaned as he looked around him.

"Not to mention the whole knocked up with a baby with cosmic powers," Jean groaned. "This did not enter into my plans either. But I guess we have to take what we get. I mean it's a miracle at all that we're alive in the first place."

She looked around at the construction. "We're not only alive, but we're rebuilding our lives. Our whole world."

"And there's no one else I'd rather build it with," Scott held her hand. "Jean…I know I can't make it official until I get a ring. But will you marry me? And not just because of the baby. I wanted to propose to you as soon as you got back."

"I know," Jean smiled. "And yes. Yes, I will marry you Scott."

They kissed again. "Wow…" Scott let out a breath when they let go.

"I know…" Jean sighed. "This is huge. I mean everything is changing…It's all so fast…"

"It'll be all right," Scott said. "We can do this. Have a baby; rebuild a town, save mutant kind and the world. How hard could it be?"

"Oh yeah, piece of cake," Jean quipped. "There's just so much to think about right now. We have to rebuild a mansion before the nursery…"

"Hey you can always bunk with Tabitha," Scott said. "She's pregnant too."

"Tabitha is **pregnant**?" Jean blinked. "That's…Wow. So Sam is going to be a father too?"

"Yes and no," Scott said. "Funny story. Which ironically is even more twisted and insane than our situation."

"How can it be more twisted and insane than getting pregnant by your brainwashed boyfriend while under the influence of an all-powerful cosmic force gone rogue?" Jean blinked.

"Getting pregnant with your boyfriend being in another guy's body," Scott told her. "After a few coincidental incidents involving a body switching mutant and a very powerful rum cake baked by a certain phasing lunatic who thinks she can become the mutant equivalent of Julia Child even though she has the skills of Penny the Poisoner."

"Come again?" Jean blinked.

"Kitty made a rum cake which Tabitha, Sam and Pyro ate," Scott explained. "And you remember Switch? She was running around loose and Sam and Pyro switched bodies."

"I still don't get it," Jean blinked.

"None of them knew Kitty baked the rum cake," Scott further explained. "She lied."

"Oh okay **now** I get it," Jean nodded. Then stopped. "Wait then that means…"

"Pyro is the biological father of Tabitha's child even though technically she didn't cheat on Cannonball," Scott explained.

"Okay. That is weirder than our story," Jean blinked. "Even weirder than those clone quintuplet children I have with Emma Frost."

"Oh God I forgot all about those kids!" Scott groaned loudly.

"What happened to them anyway?" Jean asked.

"We have a nursery for all the orphaned kids back in Japan," Scott said. "A lot of the Joes and some other mutants are watching them for us until we build the town and an orphanage or something. Some of them are going to be taken in by foster parents Rocker found. Mrs. Guthrie alone is taking in three more along with her kids."

"So to recap: Tabitha, Sam and Pyro are going to be parents," Jean thought. "You and I are going to be parents and Emma and I are **already** parents. It's official. The next generation of mutants hasn't even been fully born yet and it's already screwed up."

"Our whole species is doomed isn't it?" Scott asked.

"Pretty much," Jean said cheerfully.

"Strangely enough it takes some of the pressure off," Scott said. "Think about it, if we can just keep the next generation of mutants from killing everyone or being killed off we've pretty much done our job."

"Or at the very least only half of them from becoming killers," Jean said.

"Yeah I mean…Odds are some of them are going to not be as good at causing mayhem as the others," Scott said. "And we've all but gotten rid of Sentinels. So that's a big thing right there."

"Good. That's good. Of course knowing our luck there's a half dozen other things that want to wipe us out but still that's one thing off the list," Jean shrugged. "But we're still doomed."

"Oh yeah we are so doomed," Scott nodded.

"Jean! You're back!" Lina waved as she walked over to them with Fred. They were holding hands.

"Yeah. I'm back and apparently sane again," Jean smirked.

"**Again?** That would suggest you were **before**," Pietro zoomed over to them.

"I missed you too, Pietro," Jean gave him a look. "No, wait I didn't."

"Quicksilver you ain't exactly a member of the Sanity Society either," Fred told him. "So you're back huh Jean?"

"Uh yeah she just said she was," Pietro said. "Well did you tell them yet?"

"We just got over here!" Lina snapped. "We didn't get a chance too!"

"Why not? What's the holdup?" Pietro asked.

"Your motor mouth for one!" Fred snapped.

"Okay before this goes any further we have news," Jean held up her hand. "Tell them Scott."

"Do we have to?" Scott groaned. "I mean the first people we're going to tell is **them?**"

"Tell them **what**?" Kurt teleported over with Kitty.

"Is this about Jean being pregnant?" Kitty asked.

"HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?" Scott yelled.

"Jean's **pregnant**?" Pietro's jaw dropped.

"I checked some of the SHIELD files when nobody was looking," Kitty shrugged. "Not that hard. Everyone was freaking out about that huge hole in the helicarrier."

"You snooped though my files?" Jean asked angrily.

"I wanted to find out if they had any other reason why they were trying to keep you locked up," Kitty said. "I was gathering vital information."

"You were snooping!" Scott snapped.

"That's what gathering vital information means," Pietro said. "Holy crap there's going to be another Summers in the world! Just what this planet needs!"

"Wait why Summers and not Gray?" Kurt asked.

"Well obviously Cyclops is going to marry Jean because he's too anal retentive not to," Pietro said.

"Oh yeah that makes sense," Fred said.

"So when's the wedding?" Kitty asked brightly. "Let me see the ring!"

"There's no ring," Jean said. "Kitty…"

"What do you mean there's **no ring?"** Both Kitty and Pietro asked at the same time.

"You have to have a ring when you get engaged!" Kitty said.

"Yeah Summers what's wrong with you?" Pietro folded his arms.

"I knew he was gonna screw it up," Fred nodded.

"I didn't screw anything up! I just found out Jean was pregnant **now**! I mean that's not why I want to marry her but…" Scott was flustered.

"Yeah, yeah Summers you've been picking out china and wallpaper patterns ever since you laid eyes on Jean but you still haven't picked out a ring in all that time?" Pietro asked.

"I didn't have time to get a ring!" Scott snapped.

"You've known Jean for like nearly ten years now!" Kitty snapped. "You couldn't get a ring in ten years?"

"It took him almost that long to get a date with her. Let alone a ring!" Pietro mocked.

"Kitty ten years for a wedding ring is a little…" Jean began.

"No, it isn't," Kurt said. "In my adopted family every boy is given a family heirloom ring to keep until they propose to the woman they want to marry at the age of fifteen."

"We have a custom just like that in my family," Fred said. "Only it's not a ring. It's a pig and you don't wear it obviously. You smoke it on the wedding day."

"Wait you have a wedding ring for Amanda?" Kitty asked Kurt.

"Yes. My parents are holding on to it for me until…" Kurt began.

"Wait, Nightcrawler has a **wedding ring**?" Pietro asked. "And Lina got a pig?"

"No, I didn't. Fred gave me a ring and promised me a pig," Lina explained.

"Wait you got a pet pig?" Bobby asked as he walked over with Todd.

"No, I just got the regular smoked ribs on my wedding day," Lina explained.

"I couldn't find a live one special enough," Fred shrugged.

"Well the one you had last week was pretty special," Todd rubbed his stomach. "You should have seen it Jean. Pyro decided to have a town barbecue and for once things didn't get out of control. It was real good."

"That was good barbecue," Bobby nodded.

"Let's not talk about barbecue right now…" Scott groaned. "I feel we're going off track again."

"Okay fine. So Jean when's the baby due?" Todd asked.

"You know about Jean being pregnant too?" Scott yelled.

"Uh yeah. Pretty much," Todd nodded.

"How did you know?" Jean asked.

"Kitty told me," Todd pointed.

"You told **Toad?**" Jean glared at Kitty.

"She told **everybody**," Kurt said.

"YOU WHAT?" Jean yelled.

"First thing out of her mouth when you went off to see Scott," Bobby remarked. "Couldn't wait to blab the news!"

"I didn't blab the news!" Kitty stomped her foot.

"Yes you did," Kurt said. "Your exact words were: Hey everybody! Guess who got knocked up?"

"How come she didn't tell **me?**" Pietro shouted. "I didn't hear about it!"

"You were too busy running around the other side of town looking for someone to play that Kid Icarus Uprising game with you," Todd told him.

"Actually I was looking for the cards for the game. There's a few hardcore gamers in this town and…That's not important! You should have told me!" Pietro snapped.

"You should have stayed in one place," Fred told him.

"It's just as well. Pietro would have probably blabbed the news to Scott," Kitty said.

"As opposed to you who told **everyone else** in town!" Jean snapped.

"Not everyone," Kitty said. "I wasn't going to tell Scott."

"We made her promise not to tell you," Lina said.

"So everybody knew but me?" Scott was stunned.

"Pretty much," Todd said. "So when's the wedding?"

"How did you know…?" Jean asked.

"Hello? Summers has been making goo-goo eyes at you since day one!" Todd rolled his eyes.

"Pretty obvious if you think about it," Bobby said. "So where's the ring?"

"There is no ring!" Pietro snapped. "He didn't give her one!"

"No, ring? How can you propose to a woman without a ring?" Remy walked over with Rogue, Wanda and Lance.

"Big shock. Summers is too cheap to get a ring," Lance rolled his eyes.

"I am not cheap!" Scott snapped. "I didn't…You don't just buy a ring out of the blue for a day you might get married!"

"Why not? Gambit did," Remy shrugged. "Well not exactly buy. Thieves' Guild always had a collection of rings put away in a vault for special occasions."

"Oh you **do** have a ring?" Rogue gave him a smirked.

"Well uh…" Remy blinked and started to turn red.

"Gambit has a ring ready for Rogue and you **didn't**?" Kitty yelled at Scott. "Geeze Scott I thought you were all about being prepared."

"So when are you two getting married?" Todd asked Rogue and Remy. "Or are you waiting until you knock Rogue up like Scott did to Jean?"

"No, no, no, **no**!" Remy said quickly. "Nobody's getting knocked up before marriage!"

"You can say **that **again!" Rogue glared at Remy.

"I'm glad we got married before you got pregnant," Fred told Lina. Then winced. "Oh! I forgot to say that earlier!"

"Well you were kind of distracted," Kurt said.

"Wait! Lina is pregnant **too?**" Jean yelled.

"Quicksilver told everyone that," Lina gave her a look. "So I understand your pain."

"Yeah and the pain is Kitty and Quicksilver combined!" Scott snapped. "Wait…Dragonfly and Blob…"

"Don't **think** about it!" Lance warned. "Trust me on this one. Just don't go there in your mind!"

"Wait Fred and Lina…Oh crap I just went there," Jean winced at the thought.

"I warned you," Lance told her.

"You're not the only one who can't get their head around that thought," Logan moaned as he walked up to them. "So Cyclops. Jean. Congratulations. Where's the ring?"

"He didn't give her one," Kitty said.

"What? Didn't he get one years ago?" Logan asked. "I mean considering how long he's been mooning over her…"

"Gambit can get you a ring if you want," Remy suggested. "If you don't mind used…"

"You better not get me a 'used' ring!" Rogue snapped at him. "Or any of Quicksilver's!"

"Even _Quicksilver_ has a ring?" Scott yelled.

"I have **ten **rings," Pietro said. "Don't worry. Only four or five are for future ex-wives. The rest are backups for girlfriends."

"Trust me Chere; Gambit would never give you one of Quicksilver's rings!" Remy said. "Who knows **where** he got them?"

"Oh all of the sudden the **thief** is picky about where a nice ring comes from?" Pietro asked.

"Hey! Gambit has class okay!" Remy snapped.

"And I don't?" Pietro bristled.

"You said it," Bobby remarked.

"Now that's not fair," Wanda said. "When it comes to stuff like this my brother is very tasteful. Decorating, parties, fashion and fancy accessories."

"Thank you, Wanda," Pietro preened.

"It's just everything else about his life that I'd stay away from," Wanda added.

"Ha, ha…" Pietro bristled. "Look there is so much we have to do to plan this wedding it's not funny. First of all we need to book a hall. Scratch that, we need to make a hall we can book."

"**We **have to plan this wedding?" Scott asked. "Who said **you** were going to have anything to do with this?"

"Who else are you going to **get?"** Lance asked.

"He's got you there, Scott," Rogue shrugged.

"Don't worry. Between me and Pietro I'm sure we can plan a decent wedding for you," Kitty said.

"Wait, what do you mean by you **and** Pietro?" Jean did a double take.

"Well **who else** is going to be your maid of honor?" Kitty gave her a look.

"What? Who said it was going to be…" Jean gasped and looked around.

"Not it!" Rogue and Wanda said at the same time.

"Why don't you want to be Jean's maid of honor and plan her wedding with Quicksilver?" Bobby asked Rogue and Wanda. "And even as I asked the question I realized the answer."

"No way am I getting on **that** sinking ship," Rogue agreed. "I'll be a bridesmaid but that is as far as I will go."

"I'm your best friend," Kitty said to Jean. "Of course I'll be your maid of honor."

"Kitty you're…" Jean blinked. "Oh crap you are my best friend. How the hell did **that **happen?"

"I know. I felt the same way when I realized it," Rogue nodded. "Just as long as the dress isn't hideous and I don't have to do much I have no problem being a bridesmaid."

"Wait what about Storm? Why can't she be my maid of honor?" Jean asked.

"Sure. Go for it," Todd said dryly. "If you don't mind Shipwreck finagling his way into the wedding party."

"Last we saw him he was chasing Alex begging him to let him be the best man," Bobby sighed. "And Storm was chasing him saying…Well I think you can imagine what Storm was saying. And doing."

ZZZZZZZZZZAP!

"YEOW!" A familiar yell was heard after a bolt of lightning pieced the sky.

"Oh…You're right," Jean blinked. "Well Kitty I guess you are my maid of honor. By process of elimination."

"That and the fact she threatened to kill anybody who tried to take the job," Lance added. "And between her cooking and driving skills or should I say **lack **of them we know she can do it!"

"Wait, why would Alex be Scott's best man?" Pietro blinked.

"Because he's his brother dummy!" Fred snapped. "Geeze and you all think **I'm stupid**!"

"No comment," Rogue said.

"Let's get on with the planning. I'm seeing an outdoor wedding. Full of flowers and roses…" Pietro gestured.

"And hay fever," Todd quipped.

"By the ocean cliff near the Institute would be perfect place to rebuild a gazebo," Pietro went on. "Now obviously this week and next week are out so I've been thinking sometime during the twenty fifth. We can get Storm to make sure it's a warm sunny day."

"That's a given," Kitty nodded. "And I suppose we can count on that skank Lance calls a girlfriend to do the flowers."

"Willow is **not** a skank!" Lance bristled.

"He's right. She's too much of an idiot to be called a skank," Rogue spoke up. "Bimbo definitely. Slut yes, skank no."

"Willow is a generous loving person!" Lance snapped.

"Yeah she loves anyone in pants," Kitty snorted.

"Oh like **you're** one to talk," Lance snapped. "At least she never was with anyone that was **married!" **

"That is a low blow and you know it!" Kitty bristled. "I didn't know Wisdom was married!"

"And he didn't know Kitty was a disaster," Bobby quipped. "So I guess they're even."

"You know for a guy whose name is Wisdom; he isn't very smart is he?" Todd asked.

"Well he dated Kitty," Pietro mocked. "So that's a given."

"Just for that I am **not **letting you do the seating arrangements!" Kitty pointed.

"Fine, as long as I do the flowers and the outfits and the decorations I'm happy!" Pietro threw up his hands. "And you don't go anywhere **near **the food!"

"Why **not?"** Kitty snapped. Everyone glared at her. "Oh right. You guys are never going to let that go are you?"

"Us and the Health Department," Fred remarked.

"We'll get Pyro to do the catering," Lina spoke up.

"Hold on Pyro? This is my wedding after all!" Jean was stunned.

"Yeah right," Pietro scoffed. "Besides who else are you going to get?"

"I don't think you're gonna get Wolfgang Puck at short notice," Todd said. "Or at any notice. Pyro on the other hand will do it at the drop of a hat for practically nothing. As long as he gets to play with fire."

"He does do good barbecue," Bobby admitted.

"And I will do wonderful flowers!" Pietro preened.

"Good! You do the flowers! Then I won't have to talk to Willow!" Kitty snapped.

"She is not a skank!" Lance shouted.

"I wonder if I go back to SHIELD they'll put me back in solitary confinement?" Jean moaned. "It was so nice and peaceful there."

"That reminds me," Logan said. "Can you get Pyro to make another batch of ribs for the reception? Because the ones he made for the barbecue last week were real good."

"Yup. Definitely doomed," Scott groaned.


	13. Getting More Crowded

**Getting More Crowded**

The day of the memorial was a somber one. Mutants and the few humans that had already moved into town from all over Bayville had congregated to the new graveyard. The GI Joes had provided the service with a twenty one gun salute in honor of the fallen. There were no speeches, for no words could be said to provide comfort to the living. Merely the sounds of Taps and other memorial music gave comfort to the grief stricken.

It is important to note that this occasion was one of the few times an anti-mutant protest did not disrupt the proceedings. Mostly because the graveyard was as far from the walls of Bayville as possible. And with both SHIELD helicarriers and army tanks patrolling the borders there were no protestors daring to confront them. What small protest there was by a group of rabid FOH fanatics was done quietly outside the gates far from sight except for some media coverage. For once the FOH decided that discretion was the better part of valor and perhaps an open confrontation with both mutants and military officials might not be the most practical step their organization could take.

Especially since a huge troop of Girl Scouts had arrived at almost the same time to protest the FOH in the same area. The FOH was still smarting over the bad press they had gotten with their last televised confrontation with the organization and the recent court settlement had only made things more difficult for them. After a few quick and quiet speeches, the FOH protestors quickly got into their vans and left.

It is also important to note that shortly after the day the Girl Scout Troop received a very generous donation as well as funds to go to the annual Girl Scout Jamboree from a Mister Rocker Danko.

However there were other individuals who would disrupt the day's proceedings. And change the fate of Bayville. Again.

At the center of the graveyard was a huge life size monument of a beautiful marble angel with long wavy hair flying from a burst of flames. Under the flames was a large stone wall engraved the names of all who had fallen on M-Day.

Rocker stood with the X-Men and Misfits as they viewed the statue. "It's perfect Rocker," Kurt said in awe.

"It is beautiful," Rogue agreed.

"The mutant who did it has the power to shape and mold stone," Rocker said. "He's a natural sculptor."

"It's so lifelike," Jean let out a breath.

"Does this mutant do requests?" Scott asked.

"What do you have in mind?" Rocker asked.

"I'm thinking of having a small garden with sculptures of those X-Men, Misfits and friends we lost," Scott said. "To remember them and teach the next generations of mutants about their sacrifice."

"That's a beautiful idea Scott," Kitty said. "It would be a perfect addition to the new Institute."

"I'd like to also put sculptures of the Blind Master, Jinx and Candy Southern in the garden," Scott said. "To show that humans are willing to sacrifice themselves to help mutants."

"I think Warren would appreciate that," Jean agreed. Warren was absent that day dealing with getting his company back together. But he was already making plans to build his new company headquarters in Bayville.

"It is a good way to honor the memories of those we lost," Xi spoke calmly. The other Misfits nodded their appreciation.

"That would be very appropriate," Rocker nodded. "I'll tell him after the services. So where's Xavier? I thought he would be here."

"He had to go back to Washington DC," Scott said remarking on the other X-Man missing from the service.

"Don't tell me Xavier is still banished even for **this,**" Rocker remarked. "He barely spends time in this town as it is."

"He's not banished. I invited him to come but…" Scott sighed.

"There is a huge meeting today about the Anti-Sentinel Amendment and mutant protocols," Jean finished. "Someone had to be there. Xavier volunteered."

"I see," Rocker said calmly. "So this is a self-imposed exile isn't it?"

"He feels so guilty about everything that happened," Jean sighed. "Even though it was all Phoenix's fault. Dark Phoenix I mean."

"It doesn't matter. He failed mutant kind on his watch," Rocker said. "I would do the same thing. Perhaps it's just as well. Let the new replace the old."

"That's pretty heartless," Jean frowned.

"It's also true," Rocker pointed out.

"He's right," Scott said. "We have to do things differently than what the Professor did if things are going to change."

"How differently?" Althea asked.

"We will still train the next generation of X-Men but we are going to let the newer mutants be kids as much as possible," Scott said. "And give them more positive experiences with humans as well. I've decided the age a student can try out to be a trainee X-Man is seventeen, but only after he or she has completed at least one year's worth of studies."

"We'll still teach them self-defense and stuff but no more heavy training for sixteen year olds and under," Kitty added. "And no five in the morning training!"

"Unless of course they have detention," Rogue smirked. "That was my idea."

"Let's just say after a few sessions with either me or Rogue any troublemakers we get will shape up quick," Logan added.

"I'm not saying what the Professor did was completely wrong considering how things turned out but the fact is he turned us into soldiers when we were only kids," Scott said. "Good intentions or not, I don't think that's what I want the Institute to be in the future."

"Granted the Institute will still be a place for future X-Men to train but we will be much more careful in the training and take the time to help students gain full control over their powers before sending them into the field," Jean explained.

"And even though it will be an all mutant school I'm planning to hire at least two non-mutant teachers," Scott said. "And make as many school mixers with the human school as possible."

"I know you're upset that mutants won't go to the 'normal' school we're building for the humans but it's for the best," Rocker sighed. "Humans and mutants just aren't ready to intermingle like that even though we can get along. It was a necessary concession I made to attract the humans back to Bayville."

"Speaking of attracting humans," Laura frowned, her heightened senses picking up something.

"Yeah I hear it too," Logan looked at the spec in the sky. "SHIELD."

"What do **they** want?" Rogue frowned. "Because I doubt they're here to pay their respects."

"Something about this isn't right," Jean frowned.

"No kidding. What the hell are they doing here?" Logan growled as a SHIELD transport landed.

"Don't look at me," Rocker frowned. "I didn't invite them."

"Looks like they brought friends," Remy frowned as he saw a small group of people with Fury. "Wonder who they are?"

"I know who **one** of them is!" Laura bristled.

"Yeah I smell him too. Darkgrin," Logan pointed to a tall man with long black bushy hair wearing a dark suit.

"**That's** Darkgrin?" Rogue said. "I never saw him in human form."

"That's cause he was always in wolf form whenever he was hunting mutants down with his partner in the MRD," Scott frowned. "Last I heard he replaced Lobo as pack leader."

"There's a couple others…At least one vampire and two other were animals," Logan's nose picked out the scents. "That short guy with the eyeliner is definitely a were raccoon. Don't know the other one with the tall hat and the beard."

"Blonde vampire chick wearing red and carrying an umbrella looks familiar," Rocker frowned. "I think that's one of the vamps that was at the Senate that day they tried to take over."

"It is. Her name is Jan Romulus," Emma explained. "She's one of the leaders of the North American Vampire League. Over two thousand years old and a very powerful vampire in her own right."

"What about that golden furred cat man?" Remy asked. "Looks a little like one of those Thundercat cartoon characters."

"I think that's a Cat Man," Althea said. "Not a were cat. A Cat Man. You know like Tigra of the Avengers?"

"Oh yeah. He looks like Lion-O with blond hair," Kitty smirked. "So what are they doing here and what do they want?"

"I suggest we go find out," Rocker nodded.

"We?" Logan raised an eyebrow.

"I am the mayor of this town after all. And I have a feeling this concerns the town," Rocker said. "A bad feeling."

"Not that big a stretch if Fury's involved in this," Logan admitted.

"Storm, Jean you two take over and keep the crowd under control," Scott ordered. By now the entire crowd had noticed the SHIELD helicarrier. Already there were murmurs of discontent.

"The same goes for you Misfits except for Wanda and Pietro," Althea ordered. "You're with me."

"Wolverine, Shadowcat, Rogue, Gambit, Emma…come with me," Scott said. "I have a feeling we are going to need some backup. Just try to keep it peaceful."

The group moved towards Fury and his group. Some words were exchanged. Then some heated words. Finally they all walked into a large tent nearby for some privacy. "What is all that about?" Tabitha asked. "Laura you got the ears. You pick up anything?"

"I did. It's not good…" Laura frowned.

And it wasn't.

"And that is the agreement signed by Ms. Romulus of the American Vampire Alliance, Darkgrin of the Sharp Fang Werewolf Pack, Randall Raccoon of the Ring Tail Raccoon Tribe," Fury introduced. Pointing at each one in turn sitting at a table and chairs in the tent. The last one was directed to a short red haired young man with black eyeliner and black outfit.

"Buck Forrest leader of the Were Animals Alliance," He pointed to the bearded man in a plaid shirt, jeans with suspenders and boots. He had removed his hat and revealed a wild tuft of light brown hair as well as a pair of small antlers.

"And Chief Leo of the Cat People Tribe," Fury pointed to the blonde Lion-O clone in a tan leather outfit. "They will discuss terms of settlement within the town of Bayville."

"In other words you want them to move here with **us?"** Kitty was stunned.

"This is a joke right?" Scott looked at them. "Tell me this is a very bad joke in very poor taste!"

"After all the crap you put our people through you expect us to welcome you here with open arms?" Rocker snarled at Darkgrin.

"Considering we wolves legally own more than half the land in Bayville, yes," Darkgrin smirked.

"Yeah we got rights to the land," Randall smirked. "Thanks to our little treaty with the werewolves we all get a piece of the pie. So suck on it!"

"Why you little…" Logan snarled.

"Wolverine…" Scott warned.

"Just say the word Cyclops and I'll make a rug outta 'em!" Logan snarled.

"I'd like to see you try," Randall sneered.

"Pretty big talk from a guy who eats trash from a garbage can!" Rogue snapped. "And smells like one!"

"That's pretty big talk coming from a woman with a skunk stripe on her head," Randall challenged back.

"Well this whole thing stinks period!" Wanda snapped before Rogue could say anything. "And not just because of garbage breath over here!"

"We are not exactly thrilled with living with **trash** ourselves," Jan gave her a cold look.

"Oh yeah? Well why don't you go take a flying leap onto a…" Rogue made a fist.

"That's **enough!** All of you!" Scott ordered.

"They started it!" Rogue protested.

"Did not!" Randall snapped.

"Uh actually Randall you kind of…" Buck began.

"Buck, shut it!" Jan hissed.

"Don't tell him to shut it when he's speaking the truth!" Leo snapped. "You're not in charge of all of us!"

"That is one thing we **all **agree on," Darkgrin nodded.

"Oh don't act so high and mighty kibble breath," Randall snorted. Darkgrin growled at him but said nothing.

"Cyclops, a word please?" Fury asked and he went outside. Rocker, Scott and the rest of the Misfits and X-Men followed him. "I only asked for Cyclops."

"Too bad. You got us all," Rocker grunted. "Now spill it. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Look it's not just mutants the government has to deal with now," Fury said. "The revelation of several non-human species has gotten a lot of people nervous. Mutants were a shock enough to the system but now that everybody knows that vampires, werewolves and other creatures exist? The public is nervous and…"

"And what? Again why **us?**" Scott asked. "Our job is to watch over the mutants. Not police all those other species!"

"Yeah Fury," Althea said. "We got enough trouble with our own kind."

"And I thought those werewolves were your **friends?"** Kitty asked. "You were certainly chummy with them during the war and you weren't shy about asking them to police us!"

"I dunno, maybe having us take care of the wolves is karma biting those mutts on their flea bitten behinds!" Pietro remarked.

"You are not policing **all **of the wolves. Just a very large majority of them that happen to live in the United States," Fury let out a breath. "And any other supernatural that decides to reside in Bayville."

"Fury, things in the new Bayville are going to be delicate enough with humans and mutants co-existing," Rocker gave him a look. "Now you want to add werewolves, vampires and other were animals to the mix? That's a recipe for disaster!"

"You do remember what they did to us right?" Kitty snapped. "Particularly the werewolves who hunted us down like prey for the MRD!"

"What are you trying to do Fury? Start another race war?" Logan yelled. "Because **that** is what is going to happen if you insist on letting the fur balls and Fangers in here!"

"The problem is those fur balls and Fangers legally own half the land in Bayville," Fury said.

"Wait when did the vampires buy land here?" Kitty spoke up. "I remember when Lobo and his werewolves did it but those guys? When did **that** happen?"

"During the middle of the…conflict between you mutants and the government the pack was running low on funds," Fury said diplomatically. "And after the incident in the Senate there were more vampire on werewolf attacks and vice versa. Eventually Lobo had the bright idea of selling some land in Bayville to the vampires in order to keep the peace."

"And in order for the vampires and other Weres to keep them from tearing them into pieces," Logan put it together. "And when the MRD fell to pieces so did the deal the wolves made with the humans."

"So the wolves had to do an about face to the other Weres in order to save their hides," Althea finished.

"If it makes you feel any better the other Supernaturals aren't exactly that thrilled with the wolves either," Fury sighed. "But they're willing to tolerate them in order to get some kind of compensation for what happened during the conflict."

"How about a compromise?" Remy suggested. "We'll take in the vampires and other were animals but kick the wolves to the curb!"

"Yeah the only reason those other guys got involved was because of the werewolves anyway!" Pietro agreed.

"Exactly," Remy nodded. "The werewolves got too full of power and decided to hunt all their enemies as well as mutants. I say they chose the wrong side of the war, they live with the consequences!"

"As long as they live far away from us I agree!" Kitty said.

"You do know that your friend Wolfsbane is a werewolf?" Fury pointed out. "As well as a handful of other mutants."

"There is a big difference between a human mutant that can change her shape into that of a wolf, and a wolf that pretends to be a human and hunted down mutants for their own reasons!" Rocker snapped. "And I can tell you right now all of my people know the difference between our mutant werewolves who were loyal to us during the war from those backstabbing traitors!"

"I know what this is all about! You just want to stick all the **freaks** you can in one place to keep an eye on us!" Rogue snapped.

"Or is this in retaliation for what happened with the Sentinels?" Rocker asked. "It is isn't it?"

"No. But did you all really think I wouldn't figure out what happened? I may not be able to prove it but deep down I know you bastards had **something** to do with that little malfunction with the Sentinels the other day," Fury snarled.

"You have no proof because none of us here had anything to do with it," Rocker said clearly and calmly. "You just can't face the fact that you screwed up and as usual, mutants had to clean up **your mess**!"

"Only this time you couldn't cover up your screw up," Althea smirked. "That's the real reason you're doing this! That and what Rogue said."

"I can prove that not one of my technopaths or mutants with expertise in computers were anywhere **near** your helicarrier that day," Rocker said.

"I'm sure you can. The fact is the werewolves and vampires have a legal claim to half of Bayville and quite frankly the courts are not that interested right now in challenging that rule," Fury growled. "Plus all these other supernaturals need a home after the incident known as M-Day so…Yes, it **is **more convenient to stick you all in one place where we can keep an eye on you. Let's face it; Bayville has never exactly been a hotbed of normality so…"

"You self-righteous self-absorbed son of a bitch…" Emma snarled.

"I don't see the problem. You mutants claim to want to live in peace with humans so living in peace with non-humans shouldn't be an issue," Fury said calmly. "Look these **people** for lack of a better word have legal rights. Technically."

"That's never stopped you before," Logan snarled. "So what the hell have they got on you Fury? I know you used to have a squad of supernaturals to do your dirty work. You had no problems forcing them to fight for you back then. And dumping them when things got a little hairy. So why are you so concerned now?"

"Like I said. It's easier to stick all our problems in one place," Fury said. "I've brought them here. You work it out. Like it or not they're your problem now."

"You can't just land this on us!" Kitty shouted.

"I just did," Fury said brightly. "You know it wasn't just mutants that suffered through that whole mess. A lot of other people and different species from all over the world got caught in the middle of the conflict. **You **are partially responsible for the revelation of these guys. So **you** handle it! I'm just their ride here!"

"So you can be their ride **home!"** Logan shouted.

"Sorry. Busy schedule. Thanks to the recent Sentinel incident I've got several meetings with various officials, a complete virus sweep to oversee of all SHIELD computers, a debriefing with the President of the United States that is going to rake me over the coals and a **ton** of paperwork that is going to take me years to finish!" Fury snapped as he started to walk away. "I'm sure the delegation has some cars or some other transportation that can take them where they need to go. Then again Bayville is their home now. So I'd better set an extra place at the table for dinner if I were you. Ciao!"

"You are some piece of work Fury!" Logan roared. "This ain't over!"

"Yes it is! See you around Logan," Fury waved as he went back into the SHIELD vehicle and left the town.

"Un-freaking believable!" Pietro shouted.

"Every time I think we finally get a bit of normalcy in our lives, more insane crap just flies right in!" Kitty agreed.

"Damn it, I knew Fury and SHEILD were going to do something to retaliate for what happened with the Sentinels but even I didn't think they'd pull a stunt like **this!"** Rocker swore.

"I don't think this was all about the Sentinel incident," Scott shook his head. "Vampires and the other Weres really made a fool out of SHIELD during that whole invasion. A lot of people are jumpy."

"So once again we have to step up and clean up a mess the government made!" Logan snapped.

"It wasn't all them," Emma admitted. "Unfortunately the side effect of outing mutant kind was bringing to light the existence of other non-human species as well. Intentionally or not."

"Well you know who is to blame for **that**!" Wanda growled. "Once again my loving father screws up our lives!"

"Yeah and it was Magneto breaking his own little truce with the wolves that caused them to turn against us in the first place!" Pietro threw up his hands. "THANKS A LOT DAD!"

"So technically mutants **are** responsible for this mess," Althea sighed. "At least partially. So now what?"

"Give me a second to think…" Rocker closed his eyes. "I think there might be a way through this."

"Does it involve me skinning that little twerp with the eyeliner?" Logan snarled.

"If it does I want in on that," Rogue spoke up.

"And to think I was sure we could go through **one occasion** without something happening or going wrong," Scott sighed. "When will I learn?"

Meanwhile back in the tent…

"This plan better work Darkgrin," Leo glared at the werewolf.

"It will work. The mutants don't have a leg to stand on," Darkgrin said.

"That is what you believed when you joined the MRD," Jan pointed out. "And we all know how **that **went!"

"Yeah your stupid little deals put us in this mess," Randall agreed. "I lost a lot of cousins on M-Day and before that! And some of them I actually liked!"

"We've all suffered casualties because of the Wolves ill-fated agreement with the humans," Leo snarled. "I still can't believe you were so short sighted! You had to have known that the humans would at the very least turn on you sooner or later…"

"That was Lobo's plan. Not mine," Darkgrin snarled. "He was pack leader then! His word was law! What was I supposed to do? I had no grounds to challenge him then!"

"Pretty convenient of you to blame the **dead guy** for all your problems," Randall snorted.

"Speaking as a member of the living impaired that's not a very good excuse," Jan sniffed.

"Unlike some of **your species'** master plans?" Darkgrin gave her a look. "Seriously, you really want to go into all the mistakes our leaders have made in the past? Because I'm pretty sure I can name some **real winners** you vampires came up with!"

"Maybe this plan **wasn't** such a good idea?" Buck groaned. "I'm already getting a headache because of all the negative energy."

"Trust me. This time…" Darkgrin began. Just then the X-Men and Misfits walked in with Rocker. "Ah I see you have come to a decision?"

"Like we ever had a choice to begin with?" Scott glared at Darkgrin.

"Listen I don't blame you for your hostility…" Darkgrin sighed. "But the decision to join the MRD was Lobo's alone. He was our pack leader and we had to follow him under pack law."

"And nobody thought of challenging him? In the words of the Church Lady 'How _**convenient'**_," Pietro mocked doing a very good impersonation.

"For the record the rest of us agree with you on the wolves," Jan held up her hand. "But it's not like you mutants are completely blameless. It was your coming out that made people more aware of the supernatural and notice the actions of vampires. Ergo, we've had more people hunting us."

"Your actions put the rest of us in jeopardy as well," Randall agreed. "A lot of weres and other supernaturals got mistaken for mutants and were persecuted!"

"You are seriously blaming **us **for your problems?" Kitty snapped.

"Let's look at the facts," Jan said. "Your outing on live television created awareness and paranoia which we were all forced to deal with. Magneto and the Hellfire Club's screwing over the wolves led to conflict with not only mutants and humans but between the rest of the Supernatural Community. Your fights all over the globe destroy our homes and territories. Maniacs using giant robots to hunt you used them to blow us up as well decimating our various peoples…Uh yes. I'd say you **do **deserve quite a bit of the blame for our problems!"

"We're not the ones who attacked the Senate on live TV!" Logan snarled.

"Considering how the war turned out maybe you _should have!"_ Jan snarled.

"Not only that we got a lot of good press for giving those political crooks a good kick in the ass," Leo snorted. "More people like us than you and the wolves put together!"

"Well if you hate the wolves so much why are you with them?" Rogue asked.

"Simple. Safety in numbers," Jan gave her a look. "All our people got hit on M-Day too. Do you have any idea how many vampires and weres got killed on M-Day?"

"Our colony was decimated as well," Leo growled. "A couple Sentinels found our home and trashed it before they were shut down. It's a miracle that our species is still alive as it is!"

"After M-Day we all called an emergency meeting of the Underworld League Council," Darkgrin began.

"The **what**?" Kitty interrupted.

"It's like your UN only with vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures," Darkgrin explained. "Only this time we actually got something accomplished. Your little war with the humans affected all of us to such a degree that the only chance we all had of surviving was if we all worked together."

"That and the fact that the wolves had all the land and were willing to sell us all a slice at a reasonable deal," Randall added.

"The truth is if we don't stand together against the humans we are all going to fall," Darkgrin pointed out.

"Well I hate to break this to you, but we mutants **are **human!" Kitty snapped.

"Funny, most of your **fellow humans** don't see it that way," Jan gave her a look.

"At least we don't die from a little **sunburn!"** Kitty snarled back.

"You want to die now?" Jan popped her fangs.

"Bring it on bitch!" Kitty made a fist. "See what happens when you try to bite me!"

"Freak!" Jan snarled.

"Blood sucker!" Kitty shouted. "What's the matter? Depressed because they wouldn't let you be an extra on True Blood?"

"Why you arrogant little…"Jan howled. Darkgrin and the others grabbed her. "Let me at her! I wanna see what mutant blood tastes like! I'll bet it tastes like chicken!"

"Try sinking your fangs into **any** of us and we'll see who ends up extra crispy!" Wanda snarled as she prepared her hex bolts.

"Go ahead darling, **try** me!" Emma changed into diamond form.

"Word of warning, bite her and you might end up needing **dentures**!" Kitty agreed.

"I don't need to bite her to wipe the floor with her!" Jan snarled.

"You're not doing anything!" Rogue stood in front of her.

"And what makes you say that?" Jan asked.

"You know what my powers are? How a single touch can drain life force from humans and mutants?" Rogue removed one of her gloves and held up a hand in a show of force. "A single tap lays them out cold. More than a minute could kill them. Since I'm guessing you vampires don't have that much life force of your own to begin with…Do you really want to test my powers right now?"

"You're more of a parasite than we are!" Jan snarled.

"Okay, you are gonna be one dead corpse!" Rogue went to attack her.

"ENOUGH!" Scott yelled. "ROGUE STAND DOWN!"

"All of you stand down!" Althea agreed.

"Back off Jan! You're not helping!" Darkgrin snapped. "Same goes for the rest of you! Especially you Randall!"

"Since when are **you** our leader?" Randall snapped. "I'd sooner follow the cats than you! And they **eat** us!"

"**Once!** Over a thousand years ago! And we stopped because your people taste so bad!" Leo snarled.

"Hey! We of the Were Raccoons still remember the Night of Ten Thousand Barbecues!" Randall yelled. "That was like our Holocaust man! You don't just get over that!"

"Oh brother…" Kitty rolled her eyes.

"To this day our people still recoil at the sight of barbecue sauce!" Randall snarled.

"And it still wasn't enough to get rid of the taste of garbage from our ancestor's mouths," Leo sneered.

"Can we just get back to the issue here?" Rocker spoke up. "Okay. You don't like us. We don't like you. We all hate each other. So how are we going to resolve this?"

"You could always let us in and just buy out the wolves," Leo quipped.

"Don't think **that **option wasn't mentioned," Scott groaned.

"None of the remaining land we own in Bayville is for sale! And trust me, there is a lot of it!" Darkgrin snarled. "Face it! You're stuck with us! Like it or lump it!"

"You want **lumps **pal?" Logan made a fist.

"You mutants are just like humans in one aspect," Darkgrin snapped. "You think you're the only species that matters! Well guess what? Newsflash, you're not the only species on the block! Just because you're newer doesn't mean you're better! And it's time you learned to share. So here's how it is, we own half the land in Bayville. If you won't behave yourselves we can legally evict you. It may take years but we can get rid of at least half the town and where will you mutants all be then?"

"Unless you can fit all the mutants at your not so fancy Institute or convince 'em to join the Army," Randall snorted. "But something tells me that's not an option."

"And your only option is to put up with us or we kick you out!" Darkgrin sneered.

"You can't do that!" Kitty snapped.

"Try us," Jan glared at her.

Rocker's face hardened. "Wait here," He made a motion for the mutants to follow.

"This is insane! I can't believe Fury dumped all this on us!" Kitty threw up her hands when they were outside the tent.

"Strangely enough, I can," Logan grumbled.

"What were you saying before? About Fury holding a grudge against the Sentinel attack?" Rogue asked Rocker. "Does he really think we are responsible for that?"

"Or more accurately, are **you** responsible for that?" Emma raised an eyebrow.

"None of my technopaths had anything to do with that," Rocker said. "That's just Fury's paranoia talking."

"Even if it was true which it **wasn't**," Scott spoke clearly. "I don't think this is about that."

"Yeah it's just the icing on the cake," Logan quipped. "Fury's just dumping some of his problems onto us because he can."

"And we have to sit here and **take it**? Not cool man," Pietro growled.

"Typical, they treat us like second class citizens and they use us to their advantage to solve their problems for them," Emma growled.

"Unfortunately in this case I'm afraid Darkgrin and his **friends **have a valid point," Scott sighed. "They do own half the land in Bayville even though their buildings got blown up. And they're not going to give it up without a fight."

"Oh is **that **all?" Pietro pounded his fist into his open palm. "Well when you put it **that** way…"

"I'm not exactly adverse to **that **option," Emma agreed.

"Dibs on the annoying raccoon," Kitty spoke up.

"I wanted him," Logan frowned.

"Tough," Kitty said. "You can have Darkgrin."

"I don't want Darkgrin," Logan said.

"Why not?" Pietro asked.

"The raccoon annoys me more," Logan said. "I know. It's a weird point but…"

"If we're calling dibs I get the blonde undead bimbo," Rogue said.

"Nobody is getting **anybody,**" Scott interrupted.

"Listen I don't like this either," Rocker told them. "But I'll be damned if I let Bayville fall apart because Fury holds a grudge! We may be stuck with them, but we're the ones in charge!"

"What do you have in mind?" Emma said. Rocker told her. "They're not going to like that."

"Tough," Rocker snorted. "They wanna live here. They live by our rules or not at all."

"Oh this is gonna be good," Pietro smirked as they all went back in.

"So? What's it going to be?" Darkgrin asked as they walked back in.

"All right. **This **is how things are going to be," Rocker gave them a look. "We will let you settle here. Give the old 'We're All in This Together' speech. 'Time to Forgive' 'If We Can Live With Humans...' yada, yada, yada…But there are going to be some **serious rules** you are going to have to follow."

"Like registering **all **your people with the X-Men," Scott folded his arms.

"You can't make us do that like we're some kind of criminals!" Jan snarled.

"Why not? All the mutants in town here have to do it! Why should you be the exceptions?" Rocker said. "You have to admit that will put us all on equal footing."

"My pack would never agree to register like we're some kind of dogs that need a collar and a leash!" Darkgrin snarled.

"Maybe you should have considered that possibility when you all went along with Lobo to register **us**?" Emma said.

"I've always said you werewolves needed to be on a leash," Leo gave them a look.

"This is how it is, Darkgrin. Everybody gets registered in Bayville. Even the humans who live here agreed to it as a show of symbolism," Rocker gave him a look. "So you can't say we're playing favorites."

"On the town council we will allow one werewolf, one were raccoon, one vampire, one Cat Person and one other were of whatever species you choose to be on it," Emma added.

"You will all have equal votes but **I **will be the one in charge," Rocker gave them a look. "Now as for restitution…"

"Restitution?" Darkgrin snarled.

"From the werewolves of course since they are the ones greatest at fault," Rocker went on as if he wasn't interrupted. "I'm sure your associates will provide **generous** loans and /or payouts to those who want to start up new businesses here. To **anyone **who wants to start a business here. Human, mutant or other."

"It's the least you can do," Logan nodded.

"The **very **least," Rogue added. "Considering all the trouble you caused."

"I also recommend that the vampires set up some kind of funding as well so our new citizens can get back on their feet," Rocker said. "Call it a goodwill gesture."

"My people will have no problems with that," Jan nodded.

"Big surprise. Everybody knows vampires are the biggest hoarders of wealth in the supernatural world!" Leo groaned.

"Donald Trump doesn't have as much money and land as you guys!" Randall agreed.

"Vampires live a long time. We like financial security," Jan gave them a look. "And I suppose you would like some contributions to rebuilding the town hall and such?"

"As well as a dozen other buildings, some roads, street lights, etc.…" Rocker nodded.

"So we have to pay for the privilege of living in a town we **already** own?" Darkgrin folded his arms.

"Again, you brought this on **yourselves,**" Emma glared at him. "So don't expect any sympathy. Even your own allies think you're getting off lightly."

"That's true," Randall agreed.

"They have a point," Leo agreed.

"Since you do own the land it is a reasonable expectation that you pay for its maintenance and upkeep," Jan pointed out. "Which by the way the vampires will gladly do for the property we own. At least you can count on that."

"Oh like we Were-Raccoons **can't?"** Randall snapped. "Just because we make money off of garbage doesn't mean we live in it! Just give us a few weeks and some good contractors! We'll see whose neighborhoods are better!"

"An area of town built by oversized rodents verses an area built by vampires. Yeah **that** will be a contest," Jan scoffed. "A contest of how long I can keep from laughing."

"Oh it is so on!" Randall bristled.

"Are there any other restrictions to our liberties we need to know about?" Darkgrin snarled.

"Let's just say don't expect any werewolf policemen for a few years," Scott gave them a look.

"But we will accept a few other were animals and Cat People," Rocker said.

"What about us vampires?" Jan asked.

"What about you vampires?" Kitty folded her arms. "Don't tell me you always wanted to be a police officer."

"Well not me personally…" Jan frowned. "But I'm sure some vampire would."

"You don't sound so sure to me," Logan snorted.

"All right. You got me. Despite what you see on TV no vampire in his right mind would want to be a cop," Jan waved her arms. "Unless of course they were in charge and had a generous pension."

"Big surprise," Randall rolled his eyes. "Leave the **real work** to the **lesser species** huh?"

"You said it. I didn't," Jan glared at him.

"You stuck up…" Randall's teeth grew sharper as he snarled at her.

"Go ahead and challenge me!" Jan snarled. "Before I turned I was the Coliseum's greatest female gladiator! You think I'm gonna be scared of a bunch of fur with rabies? I've fought and won against **lions** you little…"

"I'm betting none of your lions knew any martial arts moves!" Leo snarled back.

"I may be a bit rusty but I'm pretty sure I can skin any cat!" Jan snarled.

"Enough!" Scott interrupted. "Stand down!" The delegation reluctantly did so. "Moving on…I think I speak for everyone here when I say I expect all new arrivals to Bayville to follow the law. However if you wolves and vampires and whatever else want to kill each other at least have the common sense to do it where nobody else can see it!"

"Also I want to be informed about **any** changes in leadership, hierarchy and whatever problems you have among all your groups. I don't want any of our people caught in any coup, species war or uprising. Understand that?" Rocker glared at them.

"I can't speak for the others but I can assure you any…disagreements my people have within ourselves or with other species will at first be resolved diplomatically," Leo said. He gave Jan a look. "Although some people **can't** be reasoned with."

"Let's just say if any problems between our coalitions escalates into…aggressive negotiations I am sure we will all agree to keep our…debates out of the spotlight and off the streets," Jan gave them a look.

"Good. Now let's talk about hunting rights," Rocker said. "Again I think this is mostly directed at the wolves and the vampires."

"Wolves only hunt small animals and we stick to the forests," Darkgrin snarled. "We will not hunt any sentient beings. Although the same can't be said for the vampires."

"My people are not _savages,_" Jan sniffed. "Today it is considered extremely gauche to just take any human off the street and feed off him. Not when we have so many synthetic blood and animal blood products specially formulated for the needs of vampires. Products I expect will be heavily stocked on the shelves of any food stores that open here."

"Possibly," Rocker thought. "Might be easier if you had some sort of factory in Bayville?"

"I have interests in one of the larger synthetic blood companies," Jan thought. "We have been looking for a location for a new plant."

"And I'm sure with the generous donations by the werewolves you might find building this plant profitable," Rocker gave Darkgrin a look. "And maybe a tax break or two if you choose to use our up and coming construction companies forming in Bayville?"

"We would welcome the opportunity to create new jobs," Jan nodded. "Not just in building the plant but running it. For mutants, humans and others…"

"That's one way to jump start the economy in this town," Rocker nodded. "And I'm sure if you ask nicely you can convince one or two of your other vampire owned businesses to set up shop in Bayville. With the same sort of financial support and promise for jobs for non vampires."

"You expect us to pay for **everything!**" Darkgrin snarled.

"Don't go saying you can't afford it!" Jan snapped. "You wolves haven't exactly kept a vow of poverty over the centuries either!"

"As for the rest of you," Rocker looked at the others. "Randall I know for a fact that you were raccoons have ownership of a very large trash removal and recycling business. If you want exclusive rights to trash pickup and recycling in Bayville I expect you to convince your superiors how profitable it is to do so here."

"Nobody knows trash like us raccoons," Randall admitted. "And I'm guessing you want us to hire some mutants and humans too right?"

"Exactly," Rocker nodded. "There's a former FOH headquarters that would make a perfect location for a town dump."

"Gotta say I like the way you think," Randall shrugged. "As it so happens I'm chairman of the board of my company. My people will go with this."

"Good, what about the other weres?" Rocker looked at Buck. "You've been pretty quiet throughout all this. What about you?"

"Uh depends," Buck scratched his beard.

"On what?" Emma asked.

"On whether hemp is legal in this state or not," Buck said sheepishly.

"Let's leave that one on the suggestion pile for now," Rocker remarked. "From my research I do know that a lot of were deer and other weres are pretty good farmers. It might not be a bad idea to grow some of our food here. You could have a group make a small farm. A set of greenhouses or something."

"Willow, Avalanche and a few other mutants can help you get started," Althea spoke up.

"I know Storm could help you too," Kitty spoke up. "Not to mention the werewolves who will give you a generous contribution." Darkgrin gave Kitty a nasty look but said nothing.

"Yeah, yeah I think I know some folks who'd want to start up a farm," Buck nodded. "Grow some vegetables. Some flowers and fruits man…Hey I know a guy who's hobby is beekeeping. That could be useful."

"Good, we're getting somewhere," Rocker nodded. He looked at Leo. "What have you got?"

"Not much. I mean my people are pretty good at fighting," Leo sighed. "We could be police officers or something."

"How _**convenient**_…" Darkgrin did his own impression of the Church Lady.

"We're not as industrialized as the rest of you!" Leo shouted. "Or farmers or anything! Give me a break! We gather, we hunt and fish! No agriculture or manufacturing!"

"Okay…I think I can find room for at least twenty Cat People on our new force," Rocker let out a breath. "How many people do you have left?"

"Our entire tribe has dwindled down to 95," Leo sighed. "And at least fifteen are too old or too young for work."

"Are there any other tribes of Cat People?" Scott asked.

"If there were do you think I'd be **here?**" Leo snapped. "Your species isn't the only one battling extinction! With the exception of one or two individuals we're all that's left!"

Rocker let out a breath. "Okay I can make room for twenty five on the force. But no more. Are there any other skills your people can learn?"

"I guess we could hire a few extra security guards," Jan admitted.

"We'll figure something out," Rocker sighed.

"Oh yeah," Darkgrin gave Leo a look. "The wolves get stuck with doing all the work while the cats just skate by and do **nothing!** As usual! Why am I not surprised?"

"Shut up, Darkgrin," Jan rolled her eyes.

"I guess cats **can't** land on their feet," Darkgrin went on. "At least financially."

"Watch it wolf!" Leo snarled.

"Yeah it ain't their fault they got caught in the middle of a fight **you** picked with the mutants!" Randall pointed out.

"Oh yeah? What about **you?** I clearly remember you ring tailed losers causing more than your share of problems for us!" Logan snarled.

"You want some more problems pal?" Randall snarled.

"Go ahead and threaten me! In fact, I don't need to take you on when I can get Penny to do it!" Logan snarled.

"That insane pink maniac! You wouldn't!" Randall stiffened.

"I wonder where Penny is anyway?" Logan smirked.

"You are going to let that psycho killer run loose?" Randall yelled. "Wait look who I'm talking to!"

"On second thought maybe I will take out the trash myself!" Logan popped his claws.

"Wolverine, knock it off!" Scott held him back with Rogue.

"He ain't worth it!" Rogue shouted.

"Got **that **right," Logan snarled as he stopped.

"As long as we're dictating terms I want that pink maniac locked up!" Randall yelled. "Or at least put a leash on her!"

"I'm sure we can keep Penny under control," Scott sighed.

"Why start now?" Pietro quipped.

"Quicksilver you are **not** helping!" Rogue snapped.

"Hey I'm not the bad guy here!" Pietro pointed to the group across from them.

"For once my brother isn't the biggest **pain** in the room," Wanda agreed.

"Listen Witchie-Poo I don't give a damn what you think of us," Darkgrin snarled. "We wolves are here to stay!"

"**If **you agree to our terms," Rocker corrected.

"And if we **don't?**" Darkgrin challenged.

"You really want to start another war after you barely survived the **last one?"** Rocker faced off with him.

"We don't!" Leo said.

"Yeah we only let this guy in because he said he could get us some safety!" Randall added. "If we can make a separate deal with you mutants that would be fine with me!"

"Hey man just because you have control issues don't ruin it for the rest of us!" Buck said.

"Don't overestimate how important you wolves are," Jan showed her teeth again.

"Without our land you have almost nothing!" Darkgrin snarled back.

"We have some land and who knows? Accidents do happen…" Jan snarled back.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and Grinny here will get hit by a car," Pietro quipped.

"Or taken to the dog pound," Kitty folded her arms.

"Actually **that **one can be arranged," Jan remarked. "You'd be surprised what **natural ingredients **can be found in some of our vampire made products!"

"If I were you I'd play ball Darkgrin," Scott said. "Pun intended."

"Otherwise we'll all play 'Let's Gang Up On the Wolves and Make Rugs Outta Them!'" Randall said.

"You pathetic losers couldn't even make a pot holder with yarn and macramé!" Darkgrin snarled.

"You really think you can do better? You couldn't even handle the **mutants!"** Jan shouted.

"Neither could you," Darkgrin snarled.

"Only because you forced us into a confrontation with them!" Jan said.

"We forced **you**? Excuse me but nobody told you guys to go invade the Senate and make things ten times worse for us!" Kitty shouted.

"And nobody told **you** to reveal yourselves to the public and cause a lot of chaos to draw attention to everybody!" Jan snapped.

"Enough! This is what Fury and all those other humans want! For us to tear each other to pieces!" Rocker snapped. "Do you want to give them the satisfaction?"

"No," Leo admitted.

"No way," Randall shook his head.

"The humans' government isn't to be trusted," Darkgrin folded his arms.

"You would know," Buck remarked. "But I hear what you're saying. We all stand together."

"Or hang separately," Jan sighed. "I will have to run this by my superiors but…I feel we will agree to your terms."

"Agreed," Leo nodded. "Darkgrin…"

Darkgrin let out a breath. "Agreed."

"Any objections?" Rocker asked. There were none. "Okay so now we have to figure out how to integrate the various populations into Bayville."

"We already know 95 Cat People are coming here," Scott said. "How many in the other groups are coming?"

"Well if you want those manufacturing plants and other businesses to be set up…I estimate at least three hundred to three fifty vampires," Jan said. "Again that's a rough estimate."

"About two hundred or so with my people," Randall added.

"Only about a hundred and fifty of the others," Buck said. "But that's five or six different species of weres."

"What species are we talking about?" Remy asked.

"Were Deer, were foxes, were cougars, a couple of were tigers," Buck counted off. "Some were bears and maybe some of the jackelopes. They're not really Weres but you know?"

"No were pigeons?" Rogue raised an eyebrow.

"They heard Penny lived here," Buck shrugged. "No. They're not coming."

"I want the exact numbers by the end of the week," Rocker sighed. "We can do some kind of zoning thing then."

"Maybe make a section of the town called Little Transylvania," Pietro quipped.

"I will inform the council and our leader about your terms," Jan nodded, ignoring Pietro's remarks.

"Council? You don't have a king or something?" Remy asked.

"Despite what you've seen on True Blood no, we don't have that many kings among vampires," Jan snorted. "We have lords and ladies that oversee territory but for the most part vampire affairs are handled democratically. Those Sookie Stackhouse novels are way off."

"Way off. I mean were-panther clans in North America? Come on!" Buck snorted. "Were cougars yes. But not panthers. Those are strictly South America. And they don't usually roam that far from their territories."

"But you do have a king," Emma said to Jan. "I know because I heard of him during my time with the Hellfire Club."

"Technically there are fifteen vampire subspecies with fifteen kings and queens," Jan pointed out.

"Subspecies?" Kitty asked.

"Not all vampires are alike. Some are different in appearances and others don't even drink blood," Jan said. "They drink vegetable juice believe it or not. And one species not only can go out in daylight, they live on it."

"Seriously?" Wanda asked.

"They're called Sunpyres," Jan nodded. "Very rare. They're the ones whose job is usually to keep the rest of the vampire clans in line. I guess you could call them our police force."

"And how many of those different kinds of vampires are moving in?" Rocker asked.

"A handful from almost every clan. But mostly Nosferatu Vampirus or Traditional Vampires like myself," Jan said.

"Most of us will need a week or so before moving in," Randall said.

"Our home has been completely destroyed. We're living in a refugee camp near a SHIELD facility," Leo remarked. "Mostly because of Tigra's influence and the influence of her friends with the Avengers."

"So you want to move in as soon as possible," Rocker sighed.

"Within a few days," Leo said.

"Okay fine. We'll figure something out. Just tell your more able bodied members of your tribe to expect to do some construction work as soon as they get here," Rocker waved. "At the end of the week we'll hold a zoning meeting figuring out who and what goes where."

"Well then if that is all I suppose this meeting is concluded," Darkgrin nodded as the delegation prepared to leave. "We have transportation waiting for us outside the gates on the West Wall."

"Fine. Rogue, Gambit escort our guests to the border," Scott sighed.

"It's been nice chatting with you," Darkgrin nodded as they left. "Very…interesting."

"Interesting isn't even the **word** for it," Kitty grumbled.

"They took the terms rather well," Emma thought aloud.

"Too well. Either they're up to something or they're more desperate than they're letting on," Rocker sighed. "Possibly both. But we need the money and the resources. And the jobs they bring in will be a boon on our town."

"Now comes the hard part," Logan said. "Who wants to tell everybody about the new neighbors moving in?"

"I believe **that** honor should go to the mayor," Scott gave him a look.

"Of course I will need the leader of the X-Men's support and explain to the crowd some of the terms of Bayville's new diverse population," Rocker gave him a look back. "You are charged with keeping the peace after all."

"Fine. Might as well get it over with now," Scott sighed as they went to tell the people of Bayville what was coming.

"Oh this is just gonna be **fun!**" Pietro said sarcastically.


	14. Just Another Afternoon in Mutant Paradis

**Just Another Afternoon in Mutant Paradise**

"Well that went better than expected," Scott brushed some mud off of his uniform. The majority of X-Men and Misfits had returned to the large tent on the grounds of the Institute. And all of them had some kind of dirt and mud on their clothes.

"If by better than expected you mean nobody shot actual bullets at us, than yeah it went better than expected," Rogue grumbled as she brushed dirt off her face.

"At least they didn't throw tomatoes at us," Kitty said weakly.

"That's because they didn't **have** any," Emma disdainfully looked at the mud on her uniform. "But if they did they would have thrown them as well."

"I knew they wouldn't be happy about the werewolves and vampires moving in," Rogue grumbled. "Then again I can't say I blame them."

"Still as riots go that was pretty mild," Logan admitted as he looked at his mud stained uniform. "They stopped almost as soon as they started."

"I think it was because the crowd was in shock at the news that the werewolves who persecuted them are coming to live here along with the vampires and other were creatures," Ororo sighed.

"Yeah once the news sinks in they are really gonna get mad," Todd agreed.

"I'm amazed Rocker was able to talk some sense into the crowd at all," Kitty said.

"I think the fact he mentioned that the wolves were gonna pay us all money had something to do with it," Rogue gave her a look.

"Yeah they may hate the wolves but they sure like money," Remy agreed.

"He also had some of his people spread some rumors that SHIELD and the government were forcing the werewolves and vampires on Bayville," Scott said. "So people would know it wasn't our fault."

"It's not a rumor if it's **true**. That reminds me, how did you get SHIELD to forget about Tetsukaeru and Aqua Seraphim?" Jean realized. "They started to question me about them in the beginning then said it didn't really matter."

"It was no problem," Althea waved. "Just gave 'em the old Cosmic Powers returning to the far corners of the Universe excuse."

"And that **worked?"** Scott asked.

"You'd be surprised how often that works," Logan admitted.

"Yeah I don't think those two are going to show up in the near future," Todd rolled his eyes. "I hope."

"So do I," Jean agreed.

Logan took a sniff in the air. "Speaking of showing up…You'll never guess who's here!"

"Oh please say it's Mindy Mohan or some other celebrity," Kitty moaned.

"Well technically he is a celebrity…Among the vampire hunting crowd," Logan sighed as he went out of the tent.

"Vampire hunting...Oh no..." Ororo moaned. "Please let it not be who I think it is."

When the others went out they saw Rocker dodging an attack from a familiar sword wielding Day Walker. "You shall pay for your crimes traitor!" Blade snarled.

"Get out of my face you freaking maniac!" Rocker snarled as he dodged Blade's attack.

"It is..." Ororo groaned. "Well at least it's not Dracula. Or his annoying wife."

"Never a dull moment around here is there?" Rogue groaned.

"Blade? What the hell does that bitch want?" Pietro folded his arms.

"Quickie you know its comments like that that make people think you're gay right?" Todd groaned.

"People are so narrow minded. I'm fashionable, witty and urbane," Pietro huffed.

"You are a **lot **of things," Rogue remarked. "Just grab Blade's sword and Wolverine and I will get him."

"Prepare to die you…" Blade snarled as he swung his sword at Rocker who had fallen on the ground.

"Not ready to go yet!" Rocker did a quick roundhouse kick that knocked Blade off his feet.

"I'll take that!" Pietro zoomed behind Blade and disarmed him. "Silly Blade, don't you know that running around with sharp objects isn't a good idea! Somebody could get hurt!"

"I think that was the idea, Quicksilver," Rogue said as she and Logan grabbed onto Blade.

"Let go of me!" Blade struggled to get free.

"Now calm down Sugar and let's talk about this," Rogue held on with her super strength. That and Logan holding onto him too helped.

"I know you're not Mr. Sociable but just for the hell of it would you mind explaining why you want to kill off our mayor?" Logan growled. "Besides the obvious reasons?"

"Great! What did I do **now**?" Rocker dusted himself off as he got up. "Whose friend of yours did I kill?"

"It is the lives of **everyone** you endanger! You are a threat to every living person because of your treaty with the vampires!" Blade snarled.

"Well this is a new one," Rocker grumbled.

"Hold on, you were trying to kill Rocker because of the vampires that are moving into this town?" Rogue blinked. "And how did you know about that anyway?"

"I was following that vampire and her **associates,**" Blade spat out the words. "And I overheard your little speech capitulating to those creatures!"

"How the hell did you overhear that?" Pietro snapped.

"He probably has one of those electronic listening devices in his van," Fred shrugged. "You know like the CIA has?"

Everyone looked at Fred. "What? I pay attention to stuff like that!" Fred pouted. "If you've seen any police shows nowadays…"

"The fat one is right," Blade admitted. "That is how I found out about your unholy alliance!"

"You do realize that I didn't have a choice in the matter do you?" Rocker asked Blade. "SHIELD forced me to make an alliance with them because of their alliance with the werewolves! What was I supposed to do?"

"You can't make an alliance of any kind with vampires!" Blade snarled.

"I just **told** you I didn't have a choice!" Rocker snapped.

"He's right," Scott said. "If you really listened in you know that we protested this whole thing from the beginning. But since those vampires made a deal with the werewolves and the other Supernaturals and they made a deal with SHIELD…"

"That does not concern me!" Blade snarled.

"It kind of concerns us," Rogue said. "We couldn't say no without risking another war!"

"And since we barely survived the last one we're not exactly in a hurry to start another one," Bobby said.

"That doesn't matter! Better to **die **than to submit to vampire scum!" Blade snarled. "As far as I am concerned you are all guilty of collaborating with the enemies of the human race!"

"So you'd rather all the people in this town **died **or worse instead of finding a way of working together?" Bobby snapped. "You're sick man!"

"Oh great. Just what we need. A new kind of fanatic running around," Logan groaned. "Listen Blade for the record we don't trust those vamps as far as we can throw 'em on their undead behinds. But we need them."

"You need **them?**" Blade snarled. "They are monsters!"

"Dude, you know this town is practically Monsterville right?" Pietro gave him a look. "Between the mutants and the Weres and the Cat People, vampires are just going to be another minority."

"They are prepared to help rebuild the town and bring jobs here," Rocker said. "Particularly their synthetic blood making plant."

"And you **believed** them? You are fools!" Blade snarled.

"Actually I've been doing a little background checking. Surprisingly a lot of vampires prefer the synthetic blood because it's purer and less of a stigma," Emma explained. "So yes there are some vampires that are willing to forgo eating on the occasional tourist."

"They are demons!" Blade snapped. "And you want to let them build factories here?"

"Dude aren't you **half** vampire?" Bobby asked. Blade glared at him. "Just saying."

"Listen we're going to keep an eye on the vampires. If any of them cross the line we'll deal with it," Scott said. "You can hunt vampires all over the world if you want but this town is a vampire hunting free zone. Got it?"

"Never!" Blade hissed, showing his fangs. "So long as one vampire breathes I will hunt them down! That is my mission and I will never stop! And if you protect them I will…"

"I do **not **have the time or the patience to deal with this!" Emma let out a breath. "Do you mind?" She asked Scott.

"Knock yourself out," Scott waved.

"Or better yet knock **him** out," Pietro pointed to Blade.

"Gladly!" Emma made a motion with her hands. Blade stiffened and fell into a trance. After a moment, he passed out. "Wolverine if you don't mind taking out the **trash**? Preferably into the next town?"

"What'd you do to him?" Rogue asked.

"I gave him something to think about. Just a little taste of his worst nightmares," Emma waved. "Plus I gave him a subliminal command to stay away from Bayville in the future. Just in case."

"Something tells me that ain't gonna last forever," Logan grunted as he picked the day walker up.

"No, but by the time he gets over it hopefully the town will be more organized and we'll have a better defense system for dealing with unwelcome visitors," Emma explained.

"So we're gonna have to deal with a cranky day walker that has a serious grudge against vampires?" Pietro shrugged as he gave Logan Blade's sword. "What else is new?"

"I'm going back to my tent and try to get rid of this very large headache," Rocker grumbled. "For what it's worth thank you for getting rid of that jerk. At least for the moment."

"You'd better pass a warning along to Jan and the rest of the vampires," Scott said.

"Something tells me they were **already** familiar with our guest," Rocker grunted. "You know this is probably the real reason the vampires went along with the wolves, right? Vampires want a safe place to live an undead life and figured they could get us to do the job of protecting them."

"It is a very real possibility," Ororo frowned.

"Typical. Living humans use us as tools all the time! Why not **dead ones**?" Rocker threw up his hands as he stormed away.

"I'm off. On second thought any of you Misfits want to take a trip with me?" Logan thought. "I got a place for Blade to cool off."

"It's not Antarctica I hope," Remy groaned. "Because that has been done!"

"Not **that** cold," Logan said. "Just somewhere to keep him out of our hair for a bit."

"Where?" Scott gave him a look.

"Madripoor," Logan smirked. "There's a bar I know where there are a few renegade vampires that are rumored to have their own blood harvesting business. And it ain't synthetic blood."

"I'm up for a trip," Fred grinned. "Besides if he wakes up I can give you a hand."

"Fine with me. See you in a bit," Logan waved as he and Fred teleported away with Blade.

"Well that was fun," Rogue remarked. Just then the sound of a helicopter was heard. "Now what?"

"Oh goody. More people visiting us," Emma drawled as a large helicopter with the Avengers' logo landed nearby. "This town hasn't even been rebuilt yet and already we're a popular tourist attraction."

"The Avengers? What are they doing here?" Todd asked.

"Giving me another headache," Scott gritted his teeth.

"Oh that reminds me," Althea perked up. "Came across some very interesting information about one of 'em. Quicksilver get that file from my desk back in San Francisco."

"I know which one you mean. Be right back," Pietro teleported off using the Mass Device watches. He was back in an instant. "Here you go boss!"

"What is it?" Scott asked.

"Take a look," Althea opened the folder. Scott and a few others read it.

"What does it say?" Kitty asked as she looked at it. "No way!"

"Are you sure?" Scott whispered.

"Very. Xi don't make mistakes," Althea told him. "Plus Rocker's source just turned in this very interesting piece of intelligence." She pointed to another paper in the file.

"This **is **interesting," Scott frowned.

"Quicksilver, I need you to make some copies of this ASAP," Althea told him as she took the papers back from Scott and handed them to Pietro. "And come back right away."

"Got it!" Pietro zoomed off.

"Okay let's play it cool until Pietro gets back," Althea said.

"The fun here just never ends does it?" Rogue grumbled.

"We should build an amusement park," Kitty quipped.

"Something tells me this visit from the Avengers won't amuse **any** of us," Emma spoke.

Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Ant Man and Wasp approached them. "What happened to **you?"** Wasp wrinkled her nose at the sight of the mutants covered in dirt.

"Maid's day off," Bobby quipped.

"Hello Avengers," Scott said. "I take it this isn't a social call Iron Man?"

"I'd be very surprised if it was," Jean remarked as they all returned inside the large tent with the Avengers.

"Hello Jean. It's good to see that you are yourself again," Iron Man said. "You weren't exactly your normal pleasant self during the uprising."

"Actually telling you off was one of the few things I **enjoyed** about my possession," Jean said confidently. "The one thing the Dark Phoenix and I agreed on."

"**This** again?" Iron Man sighed. "You guys are getting kind of hostile."

"Yes **again!"** Emma bristled. "And after all we have been through recently I think we have a **right** to be hostile."

"You're not exactly the only minority this country has, Ms. Frost," Captain America reminded her.

"No, but we are the only one that people send **giant robots** after!" Emma gave him a look.

"I'm not saying that the Sentinels weren't extreme but you have to look at things from other people's perspective," Iron Man said. "People are scared. They're still scared."

"So that justifies all the crap people throw at us?" Rogue snapped.

"Nobody said that," Ant Man said. "But you have to admit that a lot of mutants abuse their powers and something needed to be done to…"

"We abuse **our **powers? That's rich coming from the guy who made Ultron!" Pietro snapped as he returned with a small stack of papers.

"That was quick even for you," Bobby remarked.

"One of the tech mutants got a souped up copy machine in that office tent Rocker has," Pietro shrugged. "Anyway we were talking about our good friends the Avengers and how much damage they have done over the years. Besides Ant Man's inventions that have the tendency to want to wipe out the human race, there's Tony Stark."

"Me?" Iron Man blinked.

"Uh yeah. **You,**" Pietro rolled his eyes.

"What did I do?" Iron Man startled.

"Besides having your company make and sell weapons of mass destruction all over the globe?" Pietro asked.

"My company doesn't do that anymore! It hasn't for a long time," Iron Man snapped.

"That's debatable," Rogue grumbled. "You did send some technology to the Mardies and Bayville."

"Non-lethal technology for restraining people with super powers," Iron Man told them. "The same equipment SHIELD and the military have."

"Which was used in the MRD holding cells," Scott said.

"Scott, I sold that technology to the government for the purpose of peacefully restraining dangerous criminals. Whether they were mutant or not was not the issue," Iron Man snapped.

"Not the issue? Come on Stark, how stupid do you think we are?" Scott snapped. "There was a war against mutants going on! You had to know that most of those 'peaceful restraints' were going to be used on mutants! And that more than half those mutants imprisoned were innocent civilians who never fought a day in their life! For once Quicksilver is right! You are a menace!"

"Actually I was referring to Iron Man's oh so charming clip on Me Tube," Pietro grinned. Iron Man started to turn red.

"Oh was it the one where he threw up over that supermodel and she punched him in the nose?" Todd asked cheerfully.

"No," Pietro shook his head.

"Or the one where he got really drunk at a state dinner then took off all his clothes and said he was going to open up a rib joint chain to bring peace to the world?" Remy asked with a smile.

"That was two years ago and I have been sober since then!" Iron Man snapped. "And it wasn't like I was the only one drunk that night so…"

"You were certainly sober the day you decided to enter that car race and ended up with a fight with that Whiplash character," Althea remarked. "That reminds me, have they rebuilt that stadium yet?"

"Actually I was referring to the clip where he was demonstrating his latest anti-aircraft defense system and it accidentally blew up a playground," Pietro smirked.

"First of all my systems were tampered with and that was proven!" Iron Man snapped. "Plus there were no kids in danger there!"

"Yeah lucky you held your demonstration on Spring Break," Remy remarked. "Of course we also have many pictures of you in New Orleans on Spring Break during your drinking days."

"Not to mention pictures and clips of Wasp getting into that catfight with that model on the runway two months ago," Rogue smirked.

"Hey she started it!" Wasp snapped. "That fat cow had it coming!"

"Not helping Wasp..." Captain America groaned.

"I also enjoyed that Me Tube clip of Hawkeye dancing around in his underwear…" Pietro went on.

"I swear I am going to **kill **Falcon for…" Hawkeye interrupted. "Is there a point to all this?"

"The point is you guys cause just as much damage as we do but for some reason you get a pass while us mutants are made outcasts!" Bobby snapped. "I mean we fight off aliens and bad guys too but when the dust settles people blame us for the damage. But they don't blame **you **when you do damage! What is up with that?"

"I've never seen anybody picket **your home**!" Kitty bristled. "There's never anyone outside your mansion shouting hate slogans."

"We help you all the time with saving the world but with the exceptions of M-Day and the Cobra Invasion you guys just stay on the sidelines when we're in trouble," Todd said. "Just once would it have killed you guys to help us out when we're fighting Sentinels?"

"You say you want to help all people but when it comes to mutants you mysteriously aren't available whenever trouble happens to us!" Kitty added.

"And then you wonder why some of us act like criminals!" Remy added.

"Excuse me but aren't you a member of the _Thieves' Guild_?" Hawkeye gave Remy a look.

"Oh like **your past** was so perfect?" Rogue snapped. "You were a thief and a mercenary once!"

"She's got a point there," Ant Man shrugged.

"A very **sore** point," Rogue growled.

"In case you haven't picked it up we are still a little miffed about what happened during the Mutant War," Scott told them. "You know what you guys did?"

"Or more accurately **didn't** do?" Jean gave them a look.

"Well what about Black Panther? He's one of us! Most of the time," Wasp shrugged.

"He's the exception. He opened his kingdom as a sanctuary for mutants and there are many mutants there living peacefully," Scott said. "He had a whole kingdom to run and he still did something. And it was a lot more than what the rest of you did."

"I understand you are all angry," Captain America sighed. "But you are taking what happened way too personally."

"Personally? The government tried to enslave and eradicate us," Emma said. "I do tend to take **that **personally."

"It wouldn't have come to that if you had just…" Iron Man began.

"Just what? Surrendered? Handed ourselves over like good little mutants?" Kitty interrupted. "That's bull and you know it!"

"There are still people in the government that want nothing more than to see us all dead," Emma growled. "You don't need telepathy to see that!"

"That's why we want to help you," Captain America said.

"Oh **now** you want to help? A little late for that don't you think?" Kitty snapped.

"You know it's not like we were just sitting in our mansion doing **nothing **while the entire uprising went on," Iron Man frowned. "We had our hands full with a few alien invasions, a secret terrorist plot threatening the White House, taking down Hydra goons, going after AIM Scientists…"

"Some of which were either experimenting on mutants or mutants themselves," Hawkeye added. "There was also an attack by your new buddy Doctor Doom we needed to put down."

"Don't forget that weekend Thor's brother Loki showed up," Wasp added. "That was a mess."

"Not to mention the mess a couple of mutant thugs went on crime rampages in a few cities we had to deal with," Ant Man added.

"And we were there when Cobra made its assault on the world," Iron Man added. "Remember?"

"Oh we remember. You only got involved when the entire world was threatened," Emma said. "And as for those few low level mutant thugs you dealt with, maybe if we weren't fighting for our lives in a **war** we would have handled them?"

"The fact that you refuse to call the Mutant War for what it was is a bit insulting," Jean said bitterly. "You keep saying **uprising** like it was our fault!"

"Why won't you say war?" Kitty folded her arms. "Just curious."

"Because it wasn't a real war until the end," Ant Man spoke.

"Oh really? Then you can tell all those dead mutants out there that there's no need for them to lie in the ground because they didn't really die in a war!" Kitty snapped.

"You guys were getting out of control," Wasp snapped. "Hell you were withholding information even SHIELD didn't have!"

"With good reason," Emma glared at her.

"And what about Phoenix over there?" Wasp went on pointing to Jean. "You know she was out of control…"

"I was possessed by a cosmic force and you know it!" Jean snapped. "You ever been possessed by a cosmic force? It's not exactly easy to deal with you know? It's not like a headache where you can take two aspirin and it will go away!"

"And you still have it inside of you," Hawkeye said.

"It's under control now," Jean glared. "SHIELD did a ton of tests that **proved** that! Besides you guys have had one or two instances where someone else was controlling either your powers or your technology! I mean Iron Man's armor has been taken over at least three times and no one gives him any grief about how much damage it caused!"

"And didn't the Enchantress once do some mojo on you guys to make you fight each other once?" Todd pointed. "Right in the middle of Central Park?"

"The point is that having your powers under someone else's control can happen to anyone regardless of species," Emma spoke up. "And yet for some reason people don't care as much when you go out of control."

"That's because we're humans and humans aren't the insane maniacs you guys are!" Hawkeye snapped.

"Hawkeye!" Wasp shouted.

"Racist! I knew it yo!" Todd pointed.

"Oh yeah like normal humans are all so **perfect!"** Pietro snapped.

"Way to go Hawkeye," Iron Man gave his team mate a glare.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Hawkeye snapped. "I'm just saying per capita you mutants have more crazies than your share! And at least half of your population has gotten out of control at one point or another including **all of you!"**

"You really want to know how much self-control I am exhibiting right **now?"** Jean snarled. "And how much I could let go if I wanted to?"

"It couldn't be any worse than when you went crazy and took over Avalon," Wasp grumbled.

"THAT'S IT!" Jean snapped. "I'm going to use my powers to throw her into the middle of the ocean!"

"Jean you can't do that," Emma said snidely. "That would be polluting the oceans."

"Yeah, Jean you can't just throw **trash **anywhere you want," Kitty sneered.

"You want to throw down right now?" Wasp made some fists.

"Bring it on Bug Girl!" Kitty growled.

"You better watch it! I will so zap your ass!" Wasp snarled.

"Oh I'm _so scared_!" Kitty mocked. "Seriously. I've fought everything from giant robots to aliens to zombie ninjas! You really think I'm going to have any problem with a human insect?"

"Yeah we could just let Toad eat her," Bobby mocked. "He'd take her out in no time."

"Please. I may eat flies but even I don't eat **garbage,**" Todd sniffed.

"Oh I am going to take **you** out with the garbage you…" Wasp snarled and prepared to shrink and fight.

"**Enough!** There's no point in arguing over this," Captain America shouted. "We came to talk. Not fight."

"And what is it you need to talk about?" Scott said in an annoyed tone. "And why couldn't you make this call over a phone?"

"Well for starters we're trying to save Vision," Iron Man said.

"Back to **this **again?" Scott snapped. "Seriously, didn't we **already** go over this?"

"Look the Sentinels are a menace. I get that. But that's no reason to destroy Vision too!" Ant Man protested.

"I can't jeopardize the future of not only mutant kind but the world based on your friendship with one robot!" Scott said.

"I told you this was a waste of time," Hawkeye grumbled.

"Captain, if our situations were reversed, what would you do?" Scott asked Captain America. "For example let's say they wanted to lock up one of our X-Men for what he did during the war. Would you compromise your security for one of our people? Would you help us break him out of SHIELD custody?"

"Well I…It depends on the circumstances," Captain America coughed.

"I didn't think so," Scott said.

"I didn't say that!" Captain America protested.

"You didn't have to! The fact you stalled tells us enough!" Rogue rolled her eyes.

"Seriously. Let's say there was a mutant on your team. Would you bend the law and not report him or her or would you follow the law to register this mutant?" Scott asked. "What about you Iron Man? What would you do?"

"I would…encourage this mutant to obey the law," Iron Man admitted.

"Then I don't see why we need to continue discussing this," Scott said firmly.

"Okay you're all angry. I **get** it," Iron Man sighed. "Maybe we should have done more to…"

"MAYBE?" Rogue snapped. "**Maybe** done more?"

"That's like saying **maybe** Italian cruise ship captains should take extra classes on ship safety regulations!" Todd snapped.

"Or **maybe** Charlie Sheen should have cut down on the drinking and cocaine and kept his mouth shut before he got fired from his six million dollar an episode paying job?" Kurt snapped.

"Or **maybe** the banking regulations shouldn't have been thrown out so that corporations would spend recklessly and plunge our economy into the worst recession ever?" Bobby added.

"Or **maybe** the Wasp could wear a bra sometime?" Pietro said. "Seriously girlfriend those things are bouncing around all over the place. Not that I don't mind the view but they can get a little distracting."

"You're complaining about **my** uniform? What about the White Hooker Queen over there?" The Wasp pointed to Emma.

"That's because unlike **you** I have the figure for it," Emma smirked.

"Why you…?" Wasp growled.

"Janet not now," Ant Man warned.

"Yeah not now because you know we're **right**!" Kitty snapped. "Because honestly there is nothing you guys can say to make us change our minds."

Iron Man gave the mutants a look. "You want to make backroom deals? How about this? Remember all that money I promised to help rebuild Bayville? Technically I never signed any formal agreement. So…"

"Go ahead and back out of our deal," Emma interrupted. "We don't need your money or your resources."

"You don't? Since when?" Hawkeye asked.

"Since a few hours ago when we formally made an alliance with the Werewolves, the Vampires and countless other were creatures," Emma smirked.

"What kind of alliance?" Captain America asked.

"Well the wolves have agreed to pay restitution to many mutants who were victims of the war, wrongfully imprisoned and such," Emma said casually. "Well as many projects around town in order to help rebuild it. Since many of the wolves are going to relocate to Bayville they want to live in a nice place too."

"Not to mention the vampires and other Weres have also agreed to contribute to the town's restoration," Jean said.

"Yeah the vamps are going to build one of their new synthetic blood processing plants and bring jobs to our economy," Bobby smirked.

"What? Wait! When did **this** happen?" Iron Man was stunned along with the rest of the Avengers.

"Just as I said a few hours ago. Our mutual friend Nick Fury arranged it," Emma said.

"He did **what?**" Iron Man yelled.

"Is there a problem?" Scott asked in a mildly mocking tone. "What's wrong Stark? You look like somebody stabbed you in the back."

"Yeah and I have a feeling that guy's name is Nick Fury," Todd chuckled.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Fury offered you some kind of deal with Vision but it involved having the robot under SHIELD's control," Althea spoke up. "Am I right?"

"Got it in one," Hawkeye frowned. "Why that lousy…"

"Come on Hawkeye you were with SHIELD too," Remy said. "You know what a bastard Fury is. Of course he was going to have a couple of back up plans to make sure he got what he wanted."

"Wait a minute…It's not just Vision that will be affected by this law!" Wasp said. "What about Victor Manchea of the Runaways?"

"The kid is half organic, meaning half human which is exempt from the Amendment," Scott said.

"Yeah but that other half came from Ultron," Hawkeye pointed out.

"A kid can't help who his Dad is," Althea said. "Trust me. I know from experience."

"Ditto," Wanda folded her arms.

"Testify," Pietro agreed.

"If you could change your parents trust me I'd be the **first **in line," Rogue agreed.

"Second," Remy held up his hand for a moment.

"Besides the Runaways are officially joining the Misfits as one of our outreach branches," Althea waved. "So this is all a moot point anyway."

"You're letting **children** become soldiers?" Wasp was shocked. "You can't do that! What's wrong with you?"

"Oh so you're concerned about the mutant girl that's also part of the Runaways as well? That's nice," Althea said sarcastically.

"You don't like kids doing any fighting then where the hell were you people when we started?" Kitty asked. "Seriously, I've been doing this stuff since I was fifteen. Nobody but my parents ever worried about **that** part of my education!"

Captain America sighed. "I'm sorry. What happened to all of you was wrong."

"Saying sorry doesn't change **anything,"** Scott said. "Why are you **really** here? It can't all be just to bargain for Vision's existence or to look down on us."

"Yeah all during the war you didn't give a damn what we did and now you're butting your noses into our business?" Kitty snorted.

"All right. Cards on the table time. You know tensions are still running high all over the world," Captain America sighed. "And it doesn't help that the higher ups know that Doctor Doom's son is now the new mayor of Bayville."

"Rocker and his dad don't exactly see eye to eye on a lot of things," Remy scoffed. "They're not what you call close."

"Believe me, if anyone did take out Doom for good he'd send them a thank you card," Emma agreed. "What does he have to do with this?"

"Even though the Sentinels were dangerous, they gave the public some security on how the government was handling mutants," Iron Man began.

"Until of course those giant robots started blowing them all up," Todd remarked. "And maybe some of them are thinking mutants aren't so bad compared to a Terminator rip off!"

"Quite frankly yes. But they're still not a hundred percent comfortable with the X-Men taking over," Captain America said. "A lot of people still see you as criminals. That's where we come in. Together we can help you with your work and take down those mutants that will cause trouble."

"So let me see if I get this straight," Scott held up his hand. "You are here, to watch us watch the mutants? Have I got that right?"

"And just out of curiosity who told you to come here and 'help' us?" Althea made quotation marks in the air.

"There have been suggestions my many officials that it might help your image if it was shown that the X-Men were cooperating with the Avengers…" Iron Man began.

"Cooperating? Or reporting to **you**?" Emma growled.

"Cooperating. Let's face it you guys have a lot on your plate and you need all the help you can get," Iron Man said. "It would be better if you cooperated with us."

"Here is what **you** are going to do," Scott stood toe to toe with Iron Man. "You're going to turn around and **walk **out of here. And you are **never** going to try and interfere with how the X-Men do business again."

"Cyclops…" Captain America began.

"No, you are not going to just waltz in here and give my team orders on how to do our jobs!" Scott interrupted angrily.

"And that goes double for the Misfits!" Althea snapped. "We asked for your help when the whole war started. And you turned your back on us! And now that the dust is settled you want to move in and 'help' us because a couple people in the government are jumpy and to somehow instigate yourselves for some power trip? Forget it!"

"This isn't a power trip! It's to make sure that mutants don't get out of control again!" Iron Man protested.

"**Again**? It was the government that started the war in the first place when they started hunting and attacking us!" Kitty snarled. "Did you **not** see any footage of the Sentinels stomping on the mutants in New York City and being rounded up like animals for no reason?"

"Trust is a two way street and quite frankly none of you have proven yourselves to be much of a friend to mutant kind lately," Scott said bitterly. "Thanks but no thanks. We can handle this ourselves."

"Don't call us, we'll call you," Remy added.

"That's not a smart move Cyclops," Iron Man said sternly.

"Well I'm not as smart as I look," Scott quipped. "No comments Quicksilver!"

"I'm letting that one pass," Pietro shrugged. "Besides that joke pretty much writes itself."

"Cyclops you don't want to go this way," Iron Man said.

"And what exactly are we going to do about it?" Scott said. "You don't have any legal authority over us. The Whithalf Solution Amendment clearly states that the X-Men and Misfits are in charge of mutant affairs. Even the damn government made an emergency session to pass the bill and the president signed it. There's nowhere in that document that says that the Avengers are part of this!"

"You're right. It doesn't. But the Avengers have a lot of pull, especially over the American people," Iron Man said. "I'm just saying it would be better to have our support than to not have it."

"Since when did you ever give us **any **support?" Remy snapped.

"Let me put this another way," Iron Man said. "A lot of people want to know what the Avengers think about your groups watching over mutants. The Avengers have been non-committal. So far."

"A press conference? You are threatening us with a **press conference?"** Emma laughed along with the other mutants.

"Oh goodness gracious me!" Rogue made a mock drawl of horror. "Whatever shall we do?"

"We've fought Apocalypse, Magneto, aliens and Sentinels but we're **powerless **against a microphone!" Todd swooned dramatically. "Oh save me from the bad men from the evening news!"

"Newsflash Stark. It's not exactly the **first** time people have spoken on TV on how insane and unstable we are," Scott said. "In fact go ahead with your little media show. You do that and I might hold a little press conference of my own."

"About what?" Captain America asked. "It can't be about the Illuminati. You'd have to reveal Xavier was a member too. So what can you possibly threaten us with?"

"How about the Avengers hiding a mutant within their ranks?" Scott said casually. "You know for a group of heroes that were supposed to be upholding the law, you had no problems breaking it."

"Mutant? What are you talking about? There are no mutants on the Avengers," Iron Man blinked.

"Oh yes there are. At least one," Scott gave Wasp a look. "Would you like to say something? You look like you want to say something Wasp."

"What? Wasp isn't a mutant!" Hawkeye protested. "That's crazy talk!"

"No it's not," Althea said. "You know our friend Xi? He can decipher genetic codes in people and tell if someone is a mutant or not. He figured out your team mate's little secret a while ago. Just didn't have time to tell anyone. You know what with the end of the world and all."

"That's ridiculous! Wasp got her powers in the same accident that gave Ant Man his!" Hawkeye snapped.

"Actually it gave Ant Man his powers but enhanced Wasp's own," Scott said as he waved the papers Althea handed him. "As detailed in Dr. Pym's private notes."

"Turns out she had a dormant X-Gene," Althea smirked. "Accident activated hers. It never occurred to any of you to wonder why she can fly and Ant Man can't when they were both exposed to the same mutagenic substance?"

"Those are my private files! How did you get those?" Ant Man snapped.

"Well you know how it is with a bunch of criminals like us," Pietro said brightly. "Sticky fingers and all."

"Is this true?" Iron Man looked at the Wasp.

"No, Janet's not…" Ant Man began.

"Yes it is," The Wasp sighed in a defeated voice. "It's okay Hank, you don't have to cover for me anymore."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Captain America was stunned.

"Didn't think I needed to," Wasp explained. "I figured being an Avenger was enough."

"Until the war started," Emma frowned.

"She wanted to come out but I wouldn't let her," Ant Man protested. "I told her she could do more good with the Avengers."

"I take it you made some kind of personal DNA scanning blockers?" Kitty asked.

"Yes, they're built into her costume," Ant Man said. "We didn't think the whole mutant thing wouldn't get as bad as it did. That maybe in time it would die down and then later Janet would come out and things would be better."

"But that still doesn't explain why you didn't say anything to us!" Iron Man asked. "Did you really think we would make you resign being an Avenger?"

"Tony if I told you or anyone else you'd be legally obligated to turn me in as a mutant," Wasp said. "I didn't want to do that to you!"

"Janet is a hero! She shouldn't have to register like some kind of criminal!" Ant Man snapped.

"But you had no problems with **us **registering did you? Even though we're heroes too!" Kitty was angry. She glanced at Emma. "Well most of us anyway." Emma just rolled her eyes at the comment.

"I wonder how the public would react when they hear the news that one of their **favorite **Avengers is really a mutant?" Jean folded her arms and glared at Wasp. "Which is really funny considering all those self-righteous speeches you guys made about mutants needing to register and how it might be better for everyone if the government knew where all the dangerous mutants were?"

"A lot of your **fans** may not take it too well," Rogue smirked. "You might want to get your lawyers ready. You're going to need them."

"Oh yes so many lawyers," Kitty drawled. "Not just lying to Congress and to the government about hiding a mutant, but there are all the other little things. A lot of those fashion houses you worked for as a model might want to sue you for misrepresentation."

"Misrepresentation?" Janet was stunned.

"You'd be surprised how many companies have written in a genetic screening clause in their contracts during the past few years," Jean smirked.

"Yeah and I happen to know for a fact that the company that actually **makes **your clothes has one of them," Pietro said. "Not to mention two of those designing houses you work with. It pays to keep up with the fashion industry sweetheart."

"They would feel so betrayed if you revealed yourself to be a mutant," Kitty said. "They'd want their money back. Quickly."

"And you'd be lucky if you get to design a burlap sack after this," Todd added.

"And we know that you still have quite a few friends left in high society from your days as a bored socialite," Emma said. "Friends who have made generous donations to your charities that you sponsor. Imagine what would happen if they discovered what you were? You think being rich and well-bred will protect you from the current stigma of being a mutant? Trust me darling. It doesn't!"

"Your friends would leave you before you could blink," Rogue said. "And your charities would drop you like **that!**" She snapped her fingers.

"Not to mention all your friends in the business world wouldn't be too happy about the cover up, Stark," Scott said. "You might get quite a bit of flack just by associating with her."

"People wouldn't blame us for Janet being on the team!" Captain America was stunned.

"Tell that to my family," Jean glared at him. "They're dead."

"Not to mention a lot of other family members that chose to stand by their kids," Althea said. "Why do you think we have a growing human population in Bayville? It's because of their family members are mutants and they won't turn their backs on them like the world has."

"Trust me Captain. There's big difference between tolerating mutants in speeches than actually having one on your team," Rogue said. "Your bosses are not going to be happy about it."

"Yeah you know, that government that you were so worried about its image being tarnished?" Scott asked. "Imagine what they would do to the Avengers if they found out? They would definitely try to either distance themselves or make an example out of you."

"Your boyfriend here might end up sharing a cell with a guy named Big Bubba for his part in covering up the fact you're a mutant," Todd pointed to Ant Man. "Okay a lot of people have already been pardoned for that during the war but you never know…"

"I know there's already a lot of people that are still kind of miffed that you created Ultron," Remy smirked. "Imagine what they would do if they found out that you willingly covered up the fact that your girlfriend was a mutant?"

"And then there's all the gossip magazines that would really have a field day turning your name into mud," Kitty counted off. "All your boyfriend's fellow scientists would give him the cold shoulder for not only associating with a mutant but shielding one from the authorities. Not to mention all the other Avengers would be questioned and their reputations tarnished."

"Except of course Namor and Black Panther but those guys are so obvious nobody is gonna care about them anyway," Todd added.

"There's something else I know it," Kitty thought. "It's just on the tip of my tongue. Anyway Janet you get the idea of how things can get rough for you and your friends."

"And a lot of your enemies would take advantage of the chaos to get at you," Scott added. "Particularly the ones in the government."

"Not to mention a lot of mutants may not be too thrilled with you," Remy said. "Hiding yourself from the law. Doing diddly squat when the Sentinels and MRD were running around."

"I can think of a few words they might say," Rogue said. "One of them rhymes with gator."

"Treason! Oh technically you could be arrested on treason charges!" Kitty said brightly. "I knew there was one I missed!"

"I couldn't come out! It wasn't safe!" Wasp blurted.

"Of course it wasn't safe. Giant robots and guys with guns ready to blow any mutant to pieces were running around! It's never completely safe to be a mutant! And how scared to do think **we** were?" Kitty shouted. "Or all the other mutants when the war started? Huh? They didn't have half the protection you did!"

"There were children being dragged away by the MRD as young as **five!**" Jean fumed. "How scared were they?"

"Fortunately for you Wasp thanks to the new provisions I don't have to reveal your status as a mutant to anyone, including your superiors," Scott said. "As long as you don't commit a crime or cause any serious trouble. We can keep your mutant identify safe. That's the beauty of the system you were trying to disrupt!"

"Still think we can't handle the job?" Althea asked. None of the Avengers protested.

"So this is how it is going to be. You go your way and we'll go ours!" Scott said sternly. "If there's a threat to the world fine! We'll all be one happy family and all that. But if you want to pick fights with Doctor Doom or the Kingpin that don't involve mutants or global domination, you go it alone!"

"And we'll take care of the 'mutant problem' alone!" Althea made quotation marks in the air. "As **usual**!"

"Don't forget Tony, we are expecting that nice big check as well as many technological advancements for our hospitals and our police forces as soon as possible," Emma smirked. "And if I were you, I would set up a small branch of Stark Industries right here in Bayville."

"Branch? How about a factory?" Remy smirked.

"Oh what a good idea Gambit," Emma said. "Now doesn't Stark Industries make personal computers now?"

"That's true," Althea nodded. "And last I heard you were looking for a location for Stark Industries new manufacturing plant. One that makes protective gear and bullet proof vests for police and firefighters."

"As well as a place for making special new police and fire trucks that run on electricity as well as gas and are more safe and bulletproof," Jean grinned. "Good news Stark, you just found your new plant locations."

"Cheer up Tony. You are getting in on the ground floor of a brand new technology boom town," Emma grinned. "You get good press and a tax write off, we get jobs for our new economy. The police and firemen everywhere get better equipment…Starting in Bayville of course. And more personal computers will come out that will very affordable to the public. Again first they go to our new schools in Bayville. It's a win-win situation."

"Well we mostly win," Pietro remarked. "You not so much but still you get something out of this…"

"Yeah you not getting egg on your faces," Todd added.

Iron Man let out a sigh. "Fine. You win. I'll send over the necessary paperwork in the morning and next week we'll hold a groundbreaking ceremony of some kind."

"I thought you'd see it our way," Emma grinned. "Isn't it nice that our two teams can **work together**?"

"When the hell did you guys get to be such boardroom sharks and blackmailing…?" Hawkeye gritted his teeth.

"When people in our own government made the same kind of backroom deals and used bribes and blackmail to enslave and eradicate mutant kind," Emma interrupted him. "We're very fast learners."

"Not to mention with Frost on our team we kind of have a leg up," Kitty added.

"Actually for once Shadowcat's supposed put downs are quite correct," Emma shrugged. "In my family we learned how to manipulate and lie before we could walk. My father not only wrote the book on manipulation he also managed to pen the screenplay of the movie."

"Your Dad made movies?" Todd blinked.

"Some of us are **still learning**…" Emma sighed. "And will be in class for a long, long time!"

"The point is we can handle ourselves just fine," Rogue said.

"And as far as I'm concerned, you are **banned** from Bayville," Scott snarled at Wasp. "I don't want to see you anywhere near this town ever again!"

"And that includes your crappy clothing line or any other crap you want to sell," Pietro spoke up. "None of your junk is going to be sold in the mall. Well once we rebuild the mall."

"Good point! Thank you Quicksilver!" Scott nodded. He glared at Wasp. "You wanted to stay apart from the rest of us. Congratulations. You just got your wish. Now get the hell out of our town. And if I ever see you back here again, I'll throw you in a cell so fast you'd think I developed teleportation powers."

"But before you go I am going to **personally** escort you to the cemetery," Kitty spoke out. Her voice was cold and harsh. "And I want you and your boyfriend to look at every single grave and read every single name of the mutants who **died **on M-Day! So you can remember what happened. And you **will **remember. You will remember even if I have to have Emma engrave every single name in your memories!"

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Emma smirked. "In fact maybe all you Avengers should take a look at the memorial and get some idea what our lives are like!"

"Uh Frost, I don't think they're gonna need to look at the memorial to do that," Todd gulped as he looked outside.

"What? What do you…?" Emma looked outside. "Oh that's just…perfect!"

Flying towards them was a swarm of huge mutated insects. "You were saying something about **not **needing our help?" Captain America gave Scott a look.

"Of course," Scott sighed as he saw the giant bug swarm. "Giant killer bugs. WHY NOT?"


	15. Just What We Need A New Rivalry

**Just What We Need A New Rivalry**

"ALLEZ CUISIZNE!" Todd yelled at the top of his lungs before chomping into a huge beetle like insect. "I LOVE THIS JOB!"

"I'm glad **somebody **does…" Logan grumbled as he used his claws to slice apart another insect.

"Eww! Watch where you're slicing!" Wasp shouted as some of the gunk Logan cut splattered onto her. Even in her miniature form, Wasp was getting covered in bug guts. "This has got to be bad for my complexion!"

"Oh poor thing," Rogue snorted as she punched a giant moth into submission.

"Just keep blasting! There's only a couple of hundred of them!" Shipwreck called out. He was shooting bugs with a laser rifle.

"**Only** a couple of hundred?" Iron Man said sarcastically as he destroyed several insects. "Is that all?"

"Think of this as target practice," Hawkeye said as his arrows took down a mutated moth. "Based on last week's practice scores you could use it!"

"And it's not like we're alone on this," Scott said as he used his optics on another giant beetle. "Some of the town is really getting into it."

Apparently there were at least fifteen other mutants in town with either frog like or lizard like mutations that also allowed them to eat insects. "Best meal I've had in months," A yellow scaled lizard man burped over the carcass of another giant insect.

"Hey we gotta save some of these for leftover night!" A red lizard like mutant agreed as he chomped on what looked like a large beetle.

"That is even more disturbing," Wasp made a face.

"You're just sore because they're eating your relatives," Kitty quipped as she phased through some insects. "Ugh…But I do agree with you on the disturbing part."

"Yo Joe! These bugs have got to go!" Roadblock called out. He and several other Joes were destroying insects as well.

"Does he always have to** rhyme?"** Hawkeye asked.

"Pretty much all the time," Pietro quipped as he raced by him, then raced off again to fight more bugs.

"It's not like it's a crime," Remy said as he blew up some insects.

"Boy there is a lot of slime," Fred said as he punched a giant beetle into submission.

"Being a Joe is so sublime," Roadblock smirked.

"It beats being a mime," Pyro grinned as he burned a few moths.

"ENOUGH! OKAY! THE RHYMING IS EVEN WORSE THAN THE BUGS!" Hawkeye yelled.

"Someone could use some hugs!" Pyro snickered.

"Anybody see any giant slugs?" Todd called out. "No seriously, I saw some giant slugs a while ago and they looked really tasty."

"There were none as far as I could see," Roadblock told him.

"Where else can Toad get lunch for free?" Lance quipped as he fought.

"This is kind of fun. Maybe I should charge a fee?" Iron Man said.

"STARK!" Hawkeye yelled.

"Sorry, it is kind of contagious," Iron Man admitted.

"And these bugs are outrageous," Bobby called out.

"ENOUGH! STOP!" Hawkeye shouted. Then he looked around. "Hey it did stop."

"That's all?" Logan looked around and saw hundreds of dead and dying bugs.

"Aww. I barely got my burn on," Pyro pouted. He roasted a dead moth next to him. "It's not fun roasting dead things."

"As battles go that was unusually quick," Captain America looked around. "Didn't even last half an hour."

"It didn't take that long," Rogue shrugged. "I think we're getting used to it."

"Used to giant bugs attacking you?" Wasp gave her a look.

"Well it's not exactly the first time something like this has happened now is it?" Kitty snapped.

"It looks like Cobra La decided to pay us a visit all right," Logan grunted as he looked over the bodies of hundreds of dead insects.

"Yeah I'd know those ugly bugs anywhere," Roadblock agreed. "I think it's time to kick some Cobra La derriere!"

"But first I'm gonna munch on some lunch!" Todd grinned happily as he chomped into one of the giant moths. "Oh man this is great!"

"You know what? I think they've got this…" Iron Man looked a little green.

"Yeah maybe we should just stay back? You know in case Cobra La decides to attack elsewhere?" Hawkeye gulped.

"That's what we **thought **you'd do," Rogue grumbled under her breath.

"Come on Rogue even we can't blame the Avengers for being cautious," Kurt had heard her. "Someone has to stay behind in case they attack again. What if Cobra La decides to attack Washington DC, New York or some other city?"

"If they did they would have attacked them first," Rogue told him. "But nooo! They had to send them **here!** Like it's personal!"

"Well mutants have trashed that city twice and the Joes have trashed it a couple times so to them I guess it is personal," Shipwreck shrugged. "Anybody with any access to TV or a computer would know we're all here along with you."

"And they'd especially hate the X-Men and me because I got out of control and nearly wiped out the entire civilization," Jean sighed. "Plus Sinister used Madelyn who looked just like me to trash that city a second time."

"That's not your fault Jean," Logan told her.

"He's right. Pythona tried to take your power and use it to kill off all of humanity," Roadblock nodded. "The payback Cobra La got was karma you see?"

"That reminds me," Iron Man sighed. "I forgot to tell you. A few weeks ago there was a huge prison breakout at one of SHIELD's facilities. A lot of super powered criminals escaped and Pythona was one of them."

"Come again?" Althea gave him a look.

"Are you telling me one of GI Joe's most dangerous enemies escaped a couple of weeks ago and **now** is the time you thought to let us know?" Roadblock snapped.

"Her and 95 other prisoners all of whom were on the world's most dangerous list!" Iron Man snapped. "That's what we've been doing mostly these past few months! Hunting them down and trying to get them back!"

"We even had a few high ranking Hydra creeps break out and they nearly wrecked the planet by trying to melt the polar ice caps," Hawkeye grumbled.

"Why? They're going to melt on their own in a few years thanks to global warming," Pyro blinked. "Seems like such a waste of time to me."

"Well I picked a good day for a visit," General Hawk of GI Joe rode over in a jeep with Duke. They were both covered in bug guts. "I'd ask how you were all doing but I can see for myself its business as usual."

"At least it's a lot less messy than the last time Shipwreck tried to make his home made wine," Duke admitted.

"Yeah and this mess isn't my fault either," Shipwreck said. "Pythona's loose and Cobra La is back."

"And that means that this isn't gonna be the last time they are gonna attack," Todd remarked.

"Then I guess we all know where we gotta go," Althea nodded.

"Again with the rhyming," Hawkeye groaned.

"I suggest a joint team of Misfits and X-Men," Scott said. "We took Cobra La down once before and we can do it again."

Hawkeye groaned again. "I wasn't trying to rhyme that time," Scott said. "I mean…I'll take Rogue, Gambit, Storm, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Iceman and Shadowcat."

"And me," Jean said. Scott began to protest. "I'm going Scott and that is that."

"Toad, Avalanche, Blob, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Pyro," Althea called out. "You're the ones who get to go."

"Jean you can't go!" Scott protested.

"I'm going Scott, you can't say no," Jean said. "Pythona tried to use the Phoenix Force before…"

"So now we're gonna go knock down her door," Rogue added.

"Stop with the rhyming!" Hawkeye yelled. "I can't take any more! Great! Now you've got **me **doing it!"

"I'm going to send you a team of Joes for backup," Hawk told them. "And the rest of us will help with the cleanup here. Roadblock you're in charge of this operation."

"Good 'cause Cobra La won't be no vacation," Roadblock nodded.

"Why won't you stop rhyming?" Hawkeye groaned.

"Can't help it with our good timing," Pietro quipped.

"I gotta get out of here…" Hawkeye groaned as he walked away.

"Relax buddy and have a beer," Logan called out. Hawkeye just screaming in frustration. "You're right Quicksilver this is fun."

"Not as much fun as I am going to have trashing that Cobra whatever you called it!" Rocker stormed up to them carrying a large rifle.

"Rocker?" Kitty blinked. "What are you doing?"

"You didn't think I was going to be the kind of mayor that sits behind a desk all day taking bribes did you?" Rocker snorted. "My city was attacked. As mayor it is my sworn duty to kick ass and take names!"

"Look Rocker…" Scott began.

"Cyclops," Rocker interrupted him. "In the past forty eight hours I have had several threatening phone calls from the mayors of almost all the towns surrounding Bayville, attended a memorial for my dead team mates, visited the hospital where my few surviving ones are lying like broken dolls, barely averted another Sentinel disaster caused by SHIELD the maniacs who are patrolling the outside borders of our town like we're in some kind of cold war movie, been forced into an alliance with vampires, werewolves and God knows what else, been visited by a maniac who wanted to kill me for making the above alliance which I did **not** want to make in the first place, had to control a mob of my own people for making the stupid alliance I didn't even want to make, attacked by giant moths trying to destroy what little I've rebuilt of this town…"

"CHEEEE!"

ZZZZAPPP!

"And I had my office destroyed by a horde of mutant rodents!" Rocker snapped as a tent behind him caught on fire. "To put it simply, I need to blow something up!"

"Rocker…" Scott began.

"I **really** need to blow something up," Rocker glared at him.

"I know **that** look," Logan nodded. "Might as well let him come. Not like he can't hold his own in a fight."

"Damn right! What I can't kick with my hooves I can blow up with Laverne here!" Rocker showed them his weapon. "Now let's go kick some Cobra Lame Ass!"

"Why do I get the feeling Cobra La picked the **wrong guy** to tick off?" Remy snorted.

"Why do I get the feeling we picked a bad week to come to Bayville?" Captain America sighed.

"Is there ever a **good week** to come to Bayville?" Iron Man asked.

A few hours later…

"Good thing Trinity rebuilt the Mass Device," Roadblock grunted as he shouldered his weapon. "Last thing I wanted to do was walk all day on the ice." He was dressed in his cold weather gear.

"So where exactly are we?" Rocker looked around. He was also wearing tan cold weather gear.

"Catacombs outside of Cobra La," Kitty pulled up the hood on her jacket. The X-Men's gear was black with a gold X logo. "Watch out for weird scorpions and weirder plants."

"I'm not so sure we have to worry about that this time," Althea looked around. "Look at all the frost covering the walls and the ground." The Misfit's winter gear was tan like the Joes.

"Yeah that wasn't there the last time," Low Light frowned. "And there are hardly any plants or bugs. When we were here the last time the place was hotter and crawling with 'em."

"Good…" Kitty grunted. "Those things give me the creeps."

"Okay so could you give me the run down once again on this Cobra La thing?" Rocker asked as he shouldered his weapon.

"Cobra Commander's people. Race of humanoids evolved from snakes that predated humans," Cover Girl explained. "They even controlled most of the planet until the ice age."

"They fled up here to preserve their people. Humans evolved and took over the Earth and these guys have held a grudge ever since," Scott went on.

"A big grudge," Roadblock grumbled. "They've sent half the deadliest plagues known to man, including the Bubonic plague."

"And then they sent the ultimate plague, Cobra Commander," Shipwreck told them. "And when he failed to wipe us out they went for these weird devolving spores that would turn everybody else on Earth into mindless beasts."

"Leaving the Snake People to take back the planet with no muss and no fuss," Roadblock finished.

"Short version. The Joes stopped 'em," Shipwreck said.

"Then they tried that plan again and the X-Men and Misfits stopped them," Jean added. "And then they tried using me as a weapon and I stopped them. And destroyed half their city."

"Then Juggernaut and Sinister came along and wrecked the other half," Scott said. "So yeah, they do kind of have a grudge against us."

"And the bug thing?" Rocker asked.

"The Snake People have a society using all organic technology," Cover Girl explained. "Everything from their houses to the clothes on their backs is alive. Makes sense their weapons will be too."

"And this Pythona person?" Rocker asked.

"Cobra Commander's ex-wife. Took over Cobra La after their leader died," Roadblock explained. "Falcon stabbed the dude in the eye and he died of an infection."

"It's only fair. His creation Serpentor the First stabbed Falcon's half-brother Duke in the heart with a snake," Shipwreck grunted. "He was lucky he didn't die."

"More like too popular to die," Pyro mused to himself. "Not good for the toy industry if the lead hero goes."

"What?" Pietro gave Pyro a look.

"Oh sorry…Just thinking my little thoughts aloud," Pyro shrugged. "Honestly I have no idea where that came from."

"And the reason it's called Cobra La…?" Rocker asked.

"It's really called something else but no one can pronounce its real name," Shipwreck shrugged.

"Okay. Caught up now," Rocker nodded. "Now I know the backstory I can blow this place up with no problem."

They turned a corner and found a huge wall. "Uh…Problem," Todd gulped.

"That wasn't there before," Shipwreck blinked.

"So we'll blow it up!" Rocker readied his weapon and shot at the wall.

As Rocker's weapon discharged the wall screamed. And moved. "That's not a wall!" Rogue yelled. "That's a shell! It's…"

A huge blue crab like creature with claws whirled around. The shell it was in was large and spiral with holes in it. It swiped at the team with its clumsy claws. "HOLY CRAB!" Shipwreck yelled.

"Way to rip off today's movies Pop," Althea rolled her eyes.

"It's just a giant crab! Just pretend it's the first course at a seafood restaurant!" Rocker snarled as he readied his weapon and fired.

"A very weird seafood restaurant that makes you fight for your meal. Literally," Scott groaned as he shot his optic blasts at the crab, making it scream.

"I'd go to a restaurant like that," Logan admitted as he shot out his claws, preparing for a fight.

"Yeah! Big crab on the Barbie!" Pyro whooped and sent out a huge flame at the crab before Logan got a chance to attack. "We gonna eat some good seafood tonight! WHOO HOO!"

"And another Cobra La weapon bites the dust," Remy smirked as the crab screamed before collapsing, roasted alive.

"Dude…I don't think that was a weapon," Fred frowned as he saw the figures fleeing from the crab. "I think that was somebody's house!"

"Yeah, the screaming kids and the lady grabbing her laundry is kind of a big clue," Pietro blinked. "At least I **think** that's their laundry."

"So we shot somebody's house. Real progress we're making here," Jean grumbled as they walked through the strange winding streets of what looked like some kind of village. A village made of large shell houses and coral streets.

"No wonder it's so cold, the dome's gone," Shipwreck looked upwards.

"Dome?" Rocker asked.

"Cobra La is protected by a huge dome. Well it was," Roadblock looked at the broken dome that was all but destroyed. "Hence the lack of bugs."

"Well here are more bugs we can make some progress by killing them," Bobby quipped as several large insects headed their way.

"On it," Shipwreck readied his weapon and fired. Scott nodded and the rest of the team opened fire with either their powers or weapons.

"Guess they made some bugs more resistant to the cold than others!" Rogue snapped as she pounded a giant cockroach like creature.

"Good thing they ain't resistant to fire or mutant powers!" Pyro cackled as he let loose his flame throwers.

"Oh goody. More things for Pyro to burn," Bobby moaned.

"For once that's a **good thing**!" Wanda called out.

Two minutes later everyone was standing around several dead insects and half covered in what used to be part of a bug. "Hey has anyone noticed how little resistance we've come up against so far?" Cover Girl asked.

"You call **this** little?" Rocker snapped. He was covered in bug guts.

"She's right," Roadblock looked around. "Every time we come here this place is crawling with Cobra La soldiers. I haven't seen a single one of them yet."

"LALALALALALALALAAAAAA!"

"You just had to jinx it didn't you?" Logan groaned as several Cobra La soldiers charged from around the corner.

"Oh for crying out loud," Jean focused and used her telekinesis. The Cobra La soldiers were knocked backwards into a wall. Some of them were knocked out. The rest that weren't tried to attack again.

"Just go to sleep!" Jean snapped as she used her telepathy to knock them out.

"Your telepathy works on them?" Cover Girl asked.

"Yeah. They don't have half as many shields as a normal human and all that's on their minds are the words 'attack' and 'kill' so it's pretty easy," Jean shrugged. "Still didn't think it was a good idea for me to come Cyclops?"

"Never going to hear the end of this," Scott groaned as they walked past the unconscious soldiers.

"Don't complain," Shipwreck said. "Made our jobs easier."

"Still wasn't a lot of them," Roadblock looked around. "This place has never been right but this is a lot less right than usual. Where is everybody?"

"I'm guessing it has something to do with that big glowy stone up there," Kitty pointed. "Just a hunch."

Up a huge hill they could see a large crystal on a rock like pedestal glowing brightly. There seemed to be a large group of people around it. "That would be a good guess," Logan remarked.

"I'm going to see if I can figure out what's going on with my telepathy," Jean focused. "I can sense Pythona is there and…Oh great."

"What?" Logan asked.

"Remember when Pythona captured me and put me in that crystal to supercharge those mutagenic spores?" Jean groaned.

"Yeah," Roadblock said.

"This time she's using the power of the volcano to use a different crystal to supercharge mutagenic spores and launch them into the atmosphere," Jean explained. "Infecting the Earth and dehumanizing the whole human race."

"So basically it's the same stupid plan they had before?" Pietro asked.

"Pretty much," Jean sighed.

"Didn't they **already** do this? At least twice?" Shipwreck asked. "I mean the first time it was with the Broadcast Energy Transmitter and then with you."

"They did," Jean sighed.

"Starting to see why these people haven't been able to reconquer the world," Pietro rolled his eyes.

"Not much of a mystery why a supposedly advanced race lost to a group of Neanderthals," Rocker quipped. "I mean who does the **exact same** failed plan again and again?"

"Okay so I guess we'll do what we did before," Scott sighed. "I'll take a team to destroy the spores over there…Gambit, Storm, Pyro…Scarlet Witch you can use your hex bolts to increase our powers and make the plants get destroyed faster."

"And I'll take the rest of the team over there and we'll kick some Pythona derrière," Roadblock said. "So basically the same plan as last time."

"Hey if it ain't broke don't fix it," Todd agreed.

"And if Pythona pisses Jean off, and odds are she will…" Shipwreck said.

"I'll fry her like yesterday's bacon," Jean gritted her teeth. "Figuratively of course."

"Uh Jean are you going to be okay?" Kitty blinked.

"I'll be better once I put Pythona in her place," Jean said. "Sorry. That witch brings back a lot of bad memories."

"On **that** subject you and I agree," Roadblock said. "Let's teach that witch when you mess with us you have to pay a fee!"

Meanwhile up on the cliff, Pythona surveyed the large crystal flanked by two Cobra La soldiers. Her mostly pale bald head gleamed as the long black topknot on top of her head flowed in the wind. Her yellow serpent like eyes seemed to fill with pride as she contemplated revenge. Her face with her purple lipstick and strange purple vulture like tattoos on the sides of her eyes was the very picture of serenity.

"Everything has gone according to plan," Pythona looked at the man behind her. "Greynar you have exceeded my expectations. I chose wisely when I appointed the Head of the Royal Library to look after my people in my absence."

Greynar, an older bald blue skinned Cobra La man with a long white beard and mustache wearing red and black regal robes made from mutated spider silk and coral bowed his head. "It has not been easy my queen. Because of our depleted numbers and resources we have been forced to abandon the caste system of old and take on all responsibilities no matter what our birth designation."

"A regrettable action but necessary. Even though you are not of the royal caste you have led our people well in my absence," Pythona said. "Better than expected. And your loyalty shall be rewarded."

"All I ask for is that our people thrive and be restored to our former glory," Greynar said.

"Truer words were never spoken," Pythona nodded. "I am the last of the Royal Lineage and the High Caste. All other members of the royal family are gone. Even all our most trusted advisor bloodlines have been destroyed thanks to both the humans and the mutants. They shall pay for what they have done to us. Those upstart barbarians have thwarted me for the **last time!"**

ZAAP!

BOOM!

CRASH!

"Speak of the demons," Pythona smirked. "It seems they have arrived. All according to plan."

"Give it up Pythona!" Jean shouted as she flew up to the cliff with the others running or flying behind her.

"Yeah your stupid plan didn't work before and it sure as hell ain't gonna work now!" Rogue snapped.

"Cyclops and his team are wrecking your mutant dream!" Roadblock whooped.

"Oh are they destroying **those** little plants over there?" Pythona mocked. "Too bad. The real threat is **right here!"**

"What?" Shipwreck yelled as strange green and purple plants burst out all around them. "This ain't good!"

"Cyke…" Wanda yelled as she looked behind them as Scott's team was destroying "More plants over **there!**"

"Oh crap! This was a **distraction**!" Scott swore. "And we fell for it!"

"We really gotta stop doing that," Pyro said.

"Come on!" Remy charged when suddenly a giant purple centipede burst out of the ground in front of him. "Whoa!"

"This could be a problem," Scott groaned as twenty Cobra La soldiers raced out and surrounded them.

"You fools fell right into my trap! With your forces divided it will be easier to destroy you!" Pythona laughed as the green and purple plants started to leak some strange black mist. The sight of this made the people of Cobra La scream in terror.

"Okay I know why **we're **freaking out but why are **they **freaking out?" Bobby shouted.

"Wait…" Greynar was stunned. "My lady…These aren't mutagenic spores! These are Deathspores!"

"Deathspores?" Todd blinked. "That doesn't sound good."

"Please tell me that the name of a local heavy metal band," Lance groaned.

"I don't think so, Avalanche," Althea said.

"Of course it's not," Lance winced.

"Would be a good name for a heavy metal band though," Fred said.

"Yeah well I got a feeling it's a bad name for a weapon," Cover Girl said. "And I mean bad for us!"

"I thought you said the spores were only going to dehumanize people," Rogue yelled at Jean.

"Technically I heard her think they would dehumanize the **planet,**" Jean said. "Oh wait, I think I just figured it out."

"Hold on…Won't those spore also destroy the Snake people too?" Todd realized something.

"They will…" Greynar looked at his leader in shock. The Snake People behind him gasped in horror.

"Wait you are seriously going to destroy your entire race and the planet just to get back at us?" Kitty yelled. "You're crazy!"

"It doesn't matter!" Pythona shrieked. "Our species is dead anyway! At least this way we can take out the humans with us!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

ZZZZZZZZZZAAAAP!

"Like hell you will!" Scott snapped as his team ran over to the others.

"What? How did you get over here so fast?" Pythona shouted. "You were supposed to be divided!"

"Not for long," Remy pointed over his shoulder to the unconscious soldiers and the remains of the giant centipede. "Seems your centipede ate something that didn't agree with it. Namely my cards."

"But how…?" Pythona fumed.

"Lady we fight monsters almost on a daily basis," Pyro scoffed. "Did you really think a couple of soldiers and a fifty foot centipede was gonna slow **us **down?"

"Again, didn't hurt that your monster had a real weak stomach," Remy chuckled. "Or that your soldiers are real good conductors of electricity."

"Yeah one little zap and they were down for the count," Pyro said. "I mean come on! I've seen Shipwreck take better hits from Storm than that!"

"Then let's see how you all handle **this!"** Pythona pushed some kind of glowing stone on a nearby podium.

FOOOM!

"What the hell is happening now?" Rogue yelled. She looked over her shoulder. "Oh that volcano is erupting. Great!"

"It gets better," Pythona laughed as burst of lava seemed to explode from behind the group.

"Of course it does…" Rogue groaned. "Now what do we do?"

"Last I checked the one person who could control volcanoes isn't with us anymore," Roadblock shouted. "Pythona is willing to do anything to even the score!"

"In other words if the spores don't get us, the volcano will," Remy groaned. "Great!"

"I just **had** to come on this trip!" Rocker moaned.

"Not necessarily," Jean said. "We may not have Magma anymore but my Phoenix Force is the next best thing."

She barely missed an energy shot. "Whoa!"

"You shall perish Phoenix!" Pythona laughed as she held some kind of staff with a crystal on it. "It is the end of us all!"

"If our people must end then so be it," Greynar frowned. "But not like **this!**" He grabbed Pythona. "Stop this now!" He managed to grab the weapon from her hand by surprise.

"You **dare** touch your queen?" Pythona hissed as she struggled. "GUARDS! SEIZE THE TRAITOR!"

However to her shock her loyal guards stood there, doing nothing. They looked at each other. Then they rushed towards her. "It's about time you…WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Pythona yelled as they grabbed her and bound her with vine like bracelets.

"Your army may be made up of semi mindless programmed killing machines," Jean hovered over Pythona. "But even they don't want to see their people and the entire world destroyed."

"We put our hope in you Pythona and you failed us!" Greynar snarled. "And there is only one fate for that!"

"Before you throw her in the Pit of Oblivion may I propose an alternate punishment?" Jean spoke up.

"I fear that may be a moot point," Greynar pointed to the volcano and Death Spores. "We shall all perish."

"Don't be so sure," Althea said. She looked at Jean. "Jean I think you and I can handle the volcano but we are gonna need help with the Deathspores."

"Iceman! You can make an ice dome to protect all of us from the spores!" Shipwreck spoke up.

"He's right. That should do it for us but we need to destroy those spores permanently," Scott said.

"Can't we just burn them?" Pyro asked.

"Pyro you can't just burn everything!" Pietro snapped.

"Actually this time I believe your friend is right," Greynar said. "Fire can cleanse the air of spores."

"See!" Pyro stuck his tongue out at Pietro.

"Greynar, get all your people under the dome Iceman makes," Jean ordered as her eyes turned to flame. "Storm conjure up a wind and blow all the spores you can towards the lava. We'll do the rest."

"What do you mean we?" Kurt asked. Jean changed into her Phoenix Raptor while Althea changed into Aqua Seraphim with a bright burst of light. "Oh **that's **what you meant."

"How come she can do that and I **can't**?" Todd yelled. "Aw man! No fair!"

"No, it's perfectly fair," Pietro said. "For us anyway."

"Okay everybody under the dome! Under the dome!" Bobby shouted as he made a huge ice dome.

"You too Pythona," Cover Girl directed the Cobra La soldiers to drag her along.

"NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! WHY ARE YOU LETTING THEM DO THIS?" Pythona yelled.

"Because Pythona, our ways are the ways of nature," Greynar glared at her. "And although we are at war with the humans we are not at war with the planet itself! Those Deathspores if not destroyed will not only destroy all human life and ours…But most of the nature on this planet as well!"

"So Snake People are nature fans," Kitty said. "Who knew?"

"Our people use organic technology and have been one with nature for a millennia," Greynar gave her a look. "But our leaders have strayed from this path."

"I'd hardly call some of the creatures you've conjured up natural," Logan scoffed.

"A mutant with metal grafted onto his bones is judging what is natural and what isn't?" Greynar asked.

"Got a point Wolverine," Kitty said.

"Okay I closed the ice around us. We should be safe," Bobby said.

"Uh Bobby this is an **ice** dome," Rogue gave him a look.

"Yeah? So?" Bobby asked. "It'll protect us from the Deathspores."

"What about the **volcano?**" Rogue gave him a look.

"Oh right. Hadn't thought of that," Bobby said.

"And isn't Phoenix using her Phoenix flames?" Pyro asked.

"He's right! Which means…" Kitty gulped.

"Oh crap…" Rocker groaned as he saw flickers of flame outside the ice dome. "I **had **to come on this trip!"

"Brace yourself!" Scott yelled as the dome seemed to disintegrate into water instantaneously.

However the water did not fall on them. It hovered in midair around them. "Okay this is new…" Kurt blinked. "Not that I don't mind not getting wet…"

The water flew out in the air and seemed to be forced down the volcano. "How is she doing that?" Logan shouted.

"Phoenix is fire. Aqua Seraphim is **water,**" Bobby gave him a look. "Even I got that!"

"The Deathspores have been burned!" Greynar shouted.

"And it looks like both Phoenix and Aqua Seraphim are doing their mojo…" Roadblock pointed as the Phoenix raptor and the six winged mermaid handled the volcano.

"Okay…That's….Wait…If Jean is Phoenix and Althea is Aqua Seraphim…" Rocker realized something. "Who's Tetsu…?" He turned around and looked at Todd. "What do you mean when you said you couldn't do that?"

"Like you didn't already know!" Pietro said.

"Hey, knowing something passed on by Bishop when he was leading X-Force and seeing it in action are two different things!" Rocker snapped.

"So you **did** know?" Scott said.

"Well I kind of knew and I saw them flying around during M-Day but I didn't have time to put it all together until **now!**" Rocker said. "Those two are really powerful."

"I can be powerful too," Todd grumbled. "When I really need to be."

"Well we don't need you to be," Lance said. "At least now."

Aqua Seraphim landed and transformed back into Althea. "All done," She said.

Jean emerged from the Phoenix raptor. "One volcano out of commission."

"How did you do that?" Rocker gasped. "On second thought, don't tell me! I don't want to know!"

"And not knowing helps us sleep at night," Roadblock said. "That's the end of this fight!"

"He's right. It's over Pythona. You **lost,**" Jean glared at the former queen of Cobra La. "And **this** is for trying to screw with me and my friends again!"

Jean sent a telepathic assault on Pythona. She collapsed to the ground with a scream. "Uh Jean did you just…?" Kitty gulped.

"Don't worry. It's not a coma. She'll wake up in prison in about a few days," Jean said as some of the Joes took Pythona into custody. "But not after having some lovely nightmares and a good reason why not to attack us again."

"All right! We did it!" Cover Girl yelled. "Yo Joe!"

"Yo us!" Bobby called out. The Joes, X-Men and Misfits cheered along with Rocker.

"How come you can change at will and I can't?" Todd grumbled to his girlfriend.

"Face it sweetie, I don't get distracted as much as you do so I have better mental focus," Althea said.

"I don't get distracted! I can focus when I…" Todd noticed something. "Uh you think anyone would mind if I helped myself to what's left of that centipede?"

"I rest my case," Althea rolled her eyes.

"Let's see. Saved the world, check," Pietro made a mental checklist. "Put Pythona on ice, check. Got nearly killed but came out unscratched anyway, check. Yep, we did it all right. Just another day in the lives of the Awesome Quicksilver."

"Awesome Quicksilver?" Kitty gave him a look. "Remind me what exactly did you do again? And who actually took down a volcano and the death spores?"

"Just let it go Kitty," Wanda rolled her eyes. "Sometimes it's better to let my brother have his delusions."

"Might not be a bad idea to tell the authorities that we all did this instead of Phoenix and You Know Who," Althea said.

"Let Quicksilver have this one," Jean agreed. "SHIELD is already antsy with me as it is."

"Right. We'll just be a little vague on the details. Anybody asks we'll just say that Python's plan backfired and the volcano burned down the Deathspores," Roadblock said. "Just say that and nothing more."

"Technically that's the truth. Let's go home," Scott said.

"Scott…Wait…" Jean looked out at the Snake People. "The Snake People. Look at them."

Scott did and then he realized how thin and tired the Snake People looked. Greynar walked up to Jean. "Before you leave…you must finish what you started."

"Finish what?" Jean asked.

"Us," Greynar said. "You must completely destroy us."

"Wait you want me to…Kill you? I can't do that!" Jean was shocked.

"X-Men don't kill if we don't have to," Scott said.

"Not even us Misfits or Joes kill people if we don't have to," Lance was stunned.

"Dude that's just…" Pietro was stunned. "You don't just ask someone to kill off your whole race! What's wrong with you?"

"You've already killed us," Greynar looked at them sadly. "Without the volcano's power our people will die of the cold and starvation. Our once noble race will finally fade into the darkness."

"So you might as well do us all a favor and kill us so we don't have to suffer!" A Snake Woman called out holding her child in her arms.

"Wavedancer…Cyclops…" Lance looked at Althea and Scott. "We can't just…"

"They're casualties of war Avalanche," Logan growled.

"Speaking as a former casualty of war myself I'm not exactly thrilled with **that** statement," Rocker gave Logan a look.

"Look they're the ones who picked a fight with us. We were just defending ourselves," Logan said.

"And so were we," Greynar glared at him. "I may not have approved of my leaders' tactics in the past but I know they were only doing what they had to for our people to survive. Ironically no matter what the outcome…Our people will become extinct anyway."

"So you're just going to like…give up?" Kitty was stunned.

"What other choice do we have?" Greynar was defeated.

"Oh crap I can't believe I am going to **suggest **this…" Rocker groaned. "But what the hell? Let's just bottom this whole day out! Or better yet the whole **week**! All right. How's this? How about you guys move to Bayville?"

"WHAT?" Scott, Logan, Althea, Roadblock and Greynar yelped at the same time.

"You need a home and a place to rebuild your lives and culture," Rocker said. "And more importantly you know how to grow things and harness the power of a volcano. We have a volcano and could use all the freaking help we could get. So we set aside some land and help you get on your feet and you help us get the entire town on our feet? Sound reasonable?"

"You want our people…To move to the **human world**?" Greynar was stunned. "A world where you use…inorganic technology?"

"Well mostly yes," Rocker said. "Of course you can use your own organic technology to help us build the town. I don't see how we can't fuse both organic and inorganic technology and use both to rebuild Bayville."

"Rocker are you sure this is a good idea?" Lance asked. "You do know they hate our guts right?"

"What other choice is there?" Rocker asked. "Just let them suffer and die here?"

"Rocker's right. We can't do that," Scott said.

"We're not responsible for these people Cyclops," Remy said. "They brought their own misery on themselves."

"Maybe…but what does that say about us if we just let these people go extinct?" Scott said. "We're supposed to be better than that. To find new ways of coexisting. And apparently it's not just with humans."

"You do realize these are the people who live in **giant crab shells** complete with crab landlords right?" Logan blinked.

"Crabs that survive in arctic temperatures. I'm sure they can handle winters in the Northeast," Rocker shrugged.

"We're bringing the crabs **too**?" Rogue's jaw dropped.

"Kind of have to. Look at it this way, it'll cut building costs in half," Rocker said.

"Yeah but what exactly do those things **eat?**" Logan pointed.

"Raglak," Greynar answered.

"What the hell is Rahg-lack?" Logan pronounced it slowly.

"It is a plant," Greynar pointed to some of the destroyed towers. "Not only is it food for our organic technology, it is a staple of our diet. And it is used in building houses, observation towers and even in clothing and book making. It is an important part of our lives."

"Can humans eat it?" Scott asked.

"Yes. It is not harmful to humans and other species," Greynar nodded. "I believe it tastes like your eggplant only not as rubbery."

"So we gotta bring your plants along too," Logan winced.

"It grows best on volcanic soil underground," Greynar explained. "Once it matures it can grow anywhere."

"Well we have the volcano and I'm sure with your drill things we can make some underground tunnels," Rocker sighed. "Maybe even some buildings underground like you have here? Bayville could be the first town to have a fully developed underground city."

"It would solve any space problems," Kitty blinked.

"We don't want to live underground all the time," Greynar spoke.

"No but if we build a large part of the city underground it might be a good place for not only for your people but for others too?" Rocker thought.

"Like the vampires?" Logan realized.

"And last I heard raccoons like to live underground too," Rocker nodded. "Look Greynar, what other options do you have? It's either form a partnership with us or extinction. You really prefer **that** option?"

"I don't know…" Greynar looked at his people. "If we leave and change…We lose who we are."

"Not necessarily," Kitty said. "I'm sure there is a way to fuse both your traditions with new ways. It's possible."

"Are you really so stubborn that you would rather condemn your people to extinction rather than try something new?" Jean asked. "Okay so some things will change. But that doesn't mean everything will. I'm sure we can work together for you to preserve your heritage as well as embrace a better future."

"Why would you help us after everything we have done to you?" Greynar asked. "It doesn't make sense. You are supposed to be the new forms of evolution. It is your destiny to clear away the old in order to thrive."

"Yeah well I don't want to see mutant kind thrive at the expense of another race," Scott let out a breath. "No race should have to die for another to survive. It's just wrong."

"Yeah and you make all those great tasty giant bugs!" Todd called out. "If those things die out my taste buds would be in morning!"

"You **ate** our armada?" Greynar was stunned.

"A quarter of the town ate your armada," Logan grunted.

"What they lack in firepower, they made up for in crunchiness!" Todd grinned. "And the flavor! Oh! So tasty!" He licked his lips.

"You could always breed the bug meat as a potential industry," Rocker thought. "The foodies would have a field day."

"So would Fury," Roadblock pointed out.

"If Fury or anyone else has a problem with it, we'll just remind him of the deal we made with the werewolves and all those other supernaturals he dumped on Bayville with!" Rocker snapped. "What's one more group?"

Greynar looked at his ragged people. "I suppose…It is time for our people to come out of the shadows. For so long we wanted to be a part of the world again. Perhaps it is time to rejoin it?"

"Peace?" Rocker held out his hand.

"Peace…" Greynar took it.

"Just when I thought Bayville can't get any weirder," Kitty groaned. "It does!"

"The more things change the weirder it gets," Logan groaned. "Boy did we pick the right town slogan!"


	16. Can We Build it? Maybe

**Can We Build it? Maybe…**

"Okay let's review how things are going," Scott sighed. It was three days after the battle at Cobra La. "We just finished moving all the Snake People to Bayville. Not to mention their homes, livestock and some crops."

"It took some negotiation but we finally got a space for them in Bayville," Rocker nodded. Logan, Bobby and Emma were with them. They were on a hill overlooking part of the town.

"The majority of the Snake People are still frightened but they prefer that to extinction," Emma said. "It's still going to take a long time for them to adjust to a new way of life even if they do keep a lot of their traditions."

"One good piece of news is that they can take anything that's a hundred percent cotton or made of some kind of organic fabric," Scott said. "So at least we can supply them with clothes and blankets. That's one thing we don't have to worry about."

"Unfortunately we have a whole bunch of other things to worry about. I don't know how all the humans in all the other towns will react when they learn about the Snake People," Bobby frowned. "They aren't exactly mutant friendly to begin with. When they find out about this..."

"On the other hand everyone is so hyped up about the economy in the toilet and all those Occupy Wall Street or Whatever City you're in protests lately they haven't even bothered us much other than some graffiti and annoying phone calls," Rocker shrugged. "The whole movement and its supporters are angry at Wall Street and the government. Not us."

"For once," Scott said. "Between M-Day and the economy the government has now replaced mutants as scapegoats. But you know that won't last long."

"Come on Scott have a little faith," Bobby said. "Even the biggest FOH bigot knows that the government screwed up royally when it came to the war. Hell they whole world is mad at the US government for what happened. They made the Sentinels, we were just the victims."

"And ironically so many of the humans that hated us enough to send those machines after us," Emma nodded.

"Right now at this moment our top priority is rebuilding Bayville," Scott took a breath. "A lot of mutants aren't happy about living in tents. How's the housing situation coming?"

"There's a dozen trailers already set up that some families have moved into," Emma said. "I used my own money to buy them so we don't have to worry about any mold like those ghastly FEMA ones."

"It's a start but we need real houses," Logan pointed out.

"We've got Quicksilver, Sun Speed and two other mutants with super speed working on the first suburb of houses," Rocker said. "Well actually they're just helping out with the framework while others lay the foundation. And Canada's Alpha Flight is lending us Northstar as well. We should get the first lot done by the end of the week."

"Good thing we have mutant powers to help speed things along," Bobby said.

"How many lots are there?" Emma asked.

"Well we promised housing for every mutant and human that moved to Bayville," Rocker said. "We have six lots for development, three on the east side and three on the west side. Each lot has room for twenty standard size two story houses."

"That's only a hundred and twenty houses," Emma did the math. "I know for a fact there are more mutants than that in town!"

"Yes but some of those mutants live in family groups of three or more," Rocker said. "And they're bringing their human relatives. Based on the current lottery count we have about six hundred and fifty three people moving into them. Human and mutant."

"Still not enough," Logan grumbled.

"Don't forget we're rebuilding downtown," Scott said. "And there's currently construction for at least seven apartment buildings going on. And there are plans to add nine more. Two of them Emma owns."

"Low rent buildings but without the low rent look," Emma said. "I refuse to create slums in the new Bayville."

"So that's where all those construction workers came from?" Logan was surprised.

"Not just me darling. Warren was kind enough to back three buildings using what funds he has," Emma said. "The rest are from the werewolves and vampires believe it or not."

"And most of the people from Cobra La brought their own homes," Logan grumbled. "There's thirty of those crab things walking around."

"Plus they're planning on growing a whole forest of whatever those plants they have so they can live in them as well as harvest their leaves," Rocker remarked.

"A very good start but it's not enough," Dracula remarked as he walked over with Jan. They were both carrying umbrellas. Dracula's was black and Jan's was red to match her usual red business suit. Still Dracula managed to look tan thanks to his addiction to spray on tanning. Basically he looked like a dark haired younger George Hamilton.

"You know it's cloudy out today right?" Logan asked indicating the umbrellas.

"You can never be too careful," Dracula shrugged. "The UV rays have increased a lot over the decades. This will make the underground city more desirable when it is finished."

"Underground city? Wait we're actually building a city **underground?"** Bobby asked.

"Why not? It doubles the space and many light sensitive species such as myself can easily get around without being exposed to daylight," Dracula said. "Vampires and Raccoons have been building them for centuries. Why do you think it's so hard to find large populations of us?"

"The real problem is the timetable for the Snake People. They have to start building underground and harness the volcano," Jan said. "It's too cold for them to stay above ground for long."

"What do you mean? I know its Fall but it's still pretty warm out," Logan blinked.

"Typical mutants. It never occurs to you about the problems any **other species** would have," Dracula rolled his eyes. "You aren't the only non-traditional sapien species on the block you know?"

"And if you guys are the next evolution in humanity, which I highly **doubt **you are," Jan huffed. "It's hardly a step up."

"Could you stop your posturing and help fill in the blanks here?" Emma gave her a look.

"There's a reason the Ice Age was the downfall of the Cobra La Empire and was the gateway to the rise of humans," Jan said. "To put it simply Snake People just can't handle the cold."

"What do you mean? Cobra Commander was a snake guy and he was outside all the time," Logan said.

"Yes but Cobra Commander always wore a **uniform and mask** now didn't he?" Dracula gave him a look. "An outfit specially created to hold in heat and regulate his body temperature."

"Okay so Snake People can't handle cold so they moved their empire to the Arctic Circle?" Bobby blinked.

"In a domed mostly underground city powered by an underground volcano," Jan explained. "And they bred houses, AKA the ice crabs in order to protect them from the cold."

"Not to mention their soldiers who I suspect had much of their DNA infused with those ice crabs," Dracula added. "Ergo they could fight and guard in the snow while the rest of the people were toasty warm in their city."

"Until of course it got blown up a half dozen times," Rocker realized.

"Correct! Mutants **can **be taught!" Jan said with a wave. "Why do you think there are only two hundred and thirty eight of them left in the entire world?"

"That's why we're putting some of our funds into helping the Snake People jump start the work on harnessing the power of the volcano," Dracula said. "We've already got a few drills and put in about a couple million dollars' worth of equipment in order to assist the Snake People."

"**Only **a couple million?" Bobby blinked. "You can afford that?"

"Don't you read the papers? Vampires bring a lot of money into the economy. Ten million of it are from books, movies and other rip offs alone," Jan waved. "Anything with a vampire on it is still a hot commodity even though almost every single one of those books and movies are wildly inaccurate."

"And you have a stake in some of that," Scott folded his arms. "Pun intended."

"Not as much as you think," Jan shrugged. "But I do admit a vampire is on the board of directors over at HBO."

"Speaking of building things, you said that you had a few homes that you wanted to move to Bayville?" Scott asked. "Do you need help with that?"

"Don't worry. You've heard of pre made buildings?" Dracula asked. "We vampires have something like that."

FOOOMMMM!

"What is **that?**" Bobby yelled as he pointed to the sky. A huge dark portal opened up in the sky above them.

"Oh it's just a magic portal," Dracula waved. "Pay it no mind."

"We're supposed to _ignore_ a **magical portal** in the sky about **fifty stories high**?" Logan yelled.

"It's only temporary," Dracula waved. "We hired some movers to transport a few pre made homes from around the world to Bayville. It'll be gone in less than an hour."

"What movers? Starving Wizards Movers?" Bobby asked.

"No just regular Wizard Movers," Dracula said with a straight face. "And with all the money we're paying them they will never starve again!"

"There are **wizard movers?"** Scott blinked.

"Yes. A very honorable profession started centuries ago," Dracula nodded. "You know when someone needs to move their castle or fortress of doom to an area less crowded with angry peasants or army hordes that want to tear it apart? Vampires have been using them for a long time. How do you think the majority of us have managed to hide all our castles and stately manors from vampire slayers and tax auditors all these millennia?"

"Not necessarily in that order," Jan admitted. "Sometimes we just move our homes to another area because of lower taxes."

"The real trick is getting the plumbing and lighting all set up," Dracula groaned. "That's where they nickel and dime you to death! Uh…So to speak."

"Something's coming through the portal!" Bobby pointed.

"It's just the first wave of homes we're transporting," Dracula remarked.

"Are those…castles?" Scott's jaw dropped.

"Just a couple of medium sized ones," Dracula waved.

"A **couple **of medium sized castles?" Emma snapped. "That looks more like a couple to me!"

"Okay eight of them," Jan shrugged. "But to be fair two of them are Dracula's."

"One is going to be my summer home," Dracula waved. "The other I am turning into a high class hotel that one of my sons is going to run. Going to be very classy. Have a restaurant with a piano bar and everything. And my boy is surprisingly good in the hotel business."

"So technically we're bringing in some commerce and industry," Jan shrugged. "As well as some more sights to see in town."

"Wait, the son of Dracula…is a **hotel manager**?" Bobby's jaw dropped.

"A very good hotel manager," Dracula said. "Truth be told he is not that good at causing mayhem and terror but he is very good when it comes to customer service."

"Hold on, I didn't know vampires could have kids," Scott blinked. "I thought the only way to be a vampire was to get turned into one."

"Usually but there are some vampires whose DNA is strong enough to have actual children," Dracula said. "I'm one of them. I have nine surviving children. My youngest Frank is only thirty and he's the one that is going to manage the hotel."

"**Frank**, the Son of Dracula?" Logan blinked.

"Cindy insisted we name him after her father. What could I do? I made a promise," Dracula sighed.

"**Frank** the Son of Dracula the **Hotel Manager**," Logan repeated. "Just when I thought I had seen it all."

"You have nine kids?" Bobby asked Dracula.

"Well surviving. Thanks to people like Blade and a few family disputes," Dracula said. "I've had thirty seven children originally."

"Thirty seven?" Scott asked.

"I'm thousands of years old, had seven wives, twelve mistresses and over a hundred one night stands! What did you expect?" Dracula snapped. "It's actually a low number now that I think about it."

"Let's move on from Dracula's love life shall we? That castle over there we are going to turn into a museum of vampire history," Jan pointed to another castle floating by.

"Oh yes the Castle De Mordred is a very famous building among vampires," Dracula nodded. "A lot of important historical figures both human and vampire have lived and died and been eaten in that castle. It is an important part of our history."

"Why are you moving it **here?**" Rocker asked.

"We sold the land to put up a Clucky Chicken Restaurant back in Transylvania," Dracula admitted. "What? Clucky Chicken is very popular over there!"

"So if you think about it two of the castles are tourist attractions right there," Jan shrugged. "They'll bring in tourists from all over."

"Yes, but what **kind** of tourists are we talking about?" Emma groaned.

"And will they ever leave **alive?**" Scott added.

"Most of them," Dracula shrugged. Everyone gave him a look. "Accidents! You can't be a hundred percent sure against accidents!"

"Accidents, right…" Scott sighed. Then he looked up. "Wait a minute! I thought you said you were only bringing 8 castles! What are those over there?" He pointed to more buildings floating in.

"Technically those are not castles, they're **mansions,**" Jan said. "And there are only seventeen of them. One is mine."

"MANSIONS?" Scott shouted. He saw something else behind him. "Is that a **moat** you're building over there?"

"What? You never heard of a gated community?" Dracula asked.

"What is **that?**" Scott pointed to another huge building coming out of the portal.

"Don't worry. This is for the entire town," Dracula said. "Think of it as a gift. It is going to be the town's new concert hall slash theater."

"It looks like the Coliseum meets the Sydney Opera House!" Logan was stunned. "Designed by Edgar Allen Poe!"

"Holy crap…" Rocker blinked. "Downtown is really going to have a flavor all its own."

"Look at it this way," Emma said. "With all the buildings the vampires are bringing in and the living buildings the Snake People have brought in, construction on the town should be done in no time."

"Not to mention all the repairs and building you and the wolves are doing," Rocker admitted. "Too bad not everybody's happy about it."

"Rocker! Rocker!" Randall the leader of the were-raccoons stormed up to them in his human form. Red hair, long black leather jacket, red shirt, jeans, boots and all. What looked like a large amount of eyeliner around his eyes seemed to make him look more ridiculous than angry.

"Here comes a happy customer now," Logan quipped.

"We need to talk," Randall said. "Now! Who the hell invited all the Snake People? You do know they practically invaded us just a couple of days ago right?"

"And hello to you too Randall," Rocker sighed. "I believe I explained this last night."

"Explained? You mean **announced** that the almighty mutants have decided to take more territory away from us!" Randall snapped.

"What do you mean _take away_ territory?" Scott snapped. "The Snake People are being located on the west side of the volcano and underground. That's nowhere **near** your territory on the south side of town!"

"Hey, I'm not an idiot," Randall said.

"That's debatable," Logan grumbled.

"I've done the math. More new species moving into town, means less room and resources for everyone else! Ergo, less room for **my people**!" Randall snapped. "And I'm not the only one who feels this way!"

"Oh calm down Randall," Dracula sighed. "The Snake People moving in will actually be beneficial for everyone."

"Especially for you vampires," Randall said. "That underground city they're going to be working on will be very helpful for you guys during daylight hours."

"Last I checked raccoons don't exactly spend that much time above ground during the day either," Jan folded her arms.

"It's the principle of the thing!" Randall snapped. "You mutants think you can just run this town and the rest of us just have to sit back and take it and…"

"Okay how much will it take for you to shut up?" Rocker groaned.

"This isn't about money. Although I do appreciate the offer," Randall sniffed. "This time you can't pay your way out of this. You can't just let anybody in this town."

"Why not. We let **you** in didn't we?" Logan snapped.

"Let's think this through. You don't want money which means someone already paid you off," Rocker groaned. "And I'm guessing that someone is Darkgrin."

"Why him?" Scott asked.

"The west side has wolf territory, remember?" Bobby reminded him.

"And last night I made some negotiations with Darkgrin to take some of it for the Snake People," Rocker said. "Even though technically the boundaries aren't set yet. I thought it was settled but obviously it wasn't if they're using Randall here as a stooge to…"

"I take exception to that!" Randall bristled.

"Well what would you be rather be called? Patsy? Mouthpiece?" Rocker asked.

"I've got a few dozen suggestions," Logan growled. "What exactly did you give the wolves so the Snake People could settle in that area?"

"Actually…Technically that was part of our land," Dracula sighed.

"At the beginning of the alliance the wolves sold us some of their territory in Bayville all over the town," Jan explained. "And one of the largest concentrators of that land was on the west side of the volcano. Well where the volcano is now."

"So if the vampires owned the land why did you have negotiations with the werewolves?" Bobby asked.

"It's all about politics," Emma waved. "The wolves hate vampires even more than they hate mutants."

"And the feeling is mutual," Jan frowned. "We made some payments and favors so the wolves won't make a stink but as usual those flea bitten mutts are trying to get out of their part of the deal."

"So how were you able to convince the vampires to give the land to the Snake People?" Scott asked.

"We sold it at cost," Jan shrugged. "We still have plenty of real estate downtown and in other areas of Bayville. Plus the Snake People have a lot of precious stones that are considered valuable in the modern world."

"It's just good business to be friendly to the new neighbors," Dracula said with a straight face.

"Wait…Something tells me there's more than money going on," Bobby frowned.

"What a surprise. The human snow cone is the first to figure it out," Randall snorted. "Why don't you tell them how the vampires and the Snake People have been allies for centuries?"

"What?" Scott was stunned.

"Of course they'd sell them the land cheaply! They've been giving each other aid since before Dracula here had his first set of fangs!" Randall pointed. "Remember way back when Cobra La tried to cover the planet in mutating spores? Those spores only affected **living** things. The only thing it would do to the undead would be to give them a brief allergy attack."

"Which means if Cobra La succeeded back then…" Logan realized.

"Cobra La takes over the planet, the vampires get free meals for life," Randall snorted. "Actually they would have probably taken the other half of the planet too."

"No wonder you were so eager to sell them your land! You bastards!" Rocker snarled. "And I bet you have a deal to have one of the Snake People have your back at council meetings too? Am I right?"

"Oh like we're the **only ones** making deals?" Jan pointed to Randall. "Furballs always stick together no matter what!"

"With people like you and the snakes we don't have a choice!" Randall snapped. "You think a raccoon **wants** to be allies with cats and wolves? They eat us!"

"Stop being such a drama queen. We're not the ones who **invited** the Snake People here," Dracula pointed out. "We merely extended the hand of friendship in these difficult times."

"Yeah **brilliant** move Mr. Mayor!" Randall glared at Rocker. "And you too X-Men. Big surprise you screwed this up for us too!"

"Well the Misfits helped too…" Bobby said weakly.

"That's not helping Bobby," Emma groaned.

"Wait if you and the Snake People are allies why were they starving and close to death?" Scott asked.

"Blame Pythona for that," Dracula explained. "Actually her predecessor Golobulus. We kind of had a falling out and Pythona didn't make things any easier."

"What happened? Did they kill someone or try to destroy your people?" Bobby asked.

"Not exactly," Jan sighed.

"They hired one of my cousins as an interior decorator for one of their castles and they stiffed him with the check," Dracula said. Everyone looked at him. "Hey, vampires take interior decorating very seriously!"

"It looks like we're not the only ones that's ticked off about this," Randall pointed at a SHIELD aircraft landing nearby.

"Here we go again…" Scott groaned as he saw Nick Fury walk over with Iron Man and Hawkeye. "What are you three here to complain about **now?** As if I couldn't guess…"

"What the hell are you thinking?" Iron Man shouted. "You can't just move all the Snake People onto American soil without authorization!"

"We did. And we can. The second Fury made this a non-traditional humanoid refuge zone," Rocker snorted. "Hey he's the one who let the werewolves and the vampires and all those other guys in here! One more species might as well move in too! So don't complain about that Fury! You're the one who opened the floodgates!"

"I'm not," Fury said. "For the record I think this is a good idea."

"Whoa that's a switch," Randall blinked. "Did not see **that **coming."

"The Snake People need to be watched. Moving them all here to Bayville just makes it easier," Fury shrugged. "Besides according to the report the Joes sent, Pythona was the only real troublemaker left from that group and she's back in custody again."

"Yeah even her own people won't follow her anymore," Bobby agreed.

"Anyway I…." Fury stopped talking when he heard a noise in the sky. He looked up. "Is that a freaking **castle **coming out of a portal in the sky?"

"Technically **that **is going to be a new hotel," Dracula remarked. "But please continue."

"A hotel?" Fury asked.

"A hotel," Logan said. "Run by Frank. Son of Dracula."

**"Frank?"** Iron Man blinked behind his mask. "The Son of Dracula's name is **Frank?**"

"Frank the Hotel Manager," Emma remarked. "You were saying something Fury?"

"Uh yeah…" Fury was slightly distracted by the insanity. "Anyway having the Snake People here…"

"Will give the vampires another ally!" Randall bristled.

"With maniacs and morons like you running around we need all that we can get!" Jan snapped.

"I can't understand why you are being so blasé about the Snake People who have been trying to destroy the human race since it began living here!" Iron Man asked Fury.

"So what? We let the raccoons and Dracula move in here! What's the difference a few more agitators make?" Fury snapped.

"Notice the order of who was mentioned **first,**" Dracula said smugly. "As in who is the more annoying."

"Oh go bite someone!" Randall bristled.

"I'd bite **you** if I wanted to get rabies," Dracula quipped.

"You sure you don't want to get into politics Summers?" Rocker asked Scott.

"I think I already am," Scott groaned. "But Jan is right. We mutants can't just think about ourselves anymore. We have to learn to coexist with the whole world. And the whole world includes other species. And that includes the Snake People."

"Why? The Snake People and half of the Supernaturals never cared about being part of the world before," Iron Man said.

"That's because every time we **tried **people tried to kill us with sharp pointy objects," Dracula gave him a look.

"Well maybe if you guys didn't try to eat us…" Hawkeye began.

"Only in order to survive!" Jan snapped.

"And trust me dude you do not want to use the 'We don't eat other species' argument because we all know that's a lie," Randall gave him a look. "There's a reason there are no longer were dodos in the world pal! And that reason is **humans!"**

"Look…Wait were **dodos?"** Scott did a double take.

"Yeah all the dodos in the world were actually weres," Randall said. "So technically…"

"I don't want to hear any more of **this **conversation…" Fury winced in pain.

Scott tried again. "Look nobody said this was all going to be easy…"

"Understatement of the year!" Hawkeye groaned. "Fury I'm starting to get really worried about the human population here."

"Why? They're the only ones who haven't ticked us off," Randall asked. "Ironically."

"Mutants living with humans are one thing," Hawkeye said. "But now you've got werewolves, vampires, Snake People, talking raccoons…And lord knows what else running around!"

"This is not going to be one of those 'Oh humans are so helpless' rants is it?" Randall snapped. "Seriously, if you guys were half as weak as you claim to be, none of us would be here!"

"He's right," Jan sniffed. "On the whole the human race may be morons but they are highly effective morons when it comes to violence and destruction."

"Nice to see we're not completely discounted," Fury said sarcastically.

"What I mean is Bayville was already going to have problems with humans and mutants getting along until you threw the extra species into the mix," Hawkeye pointed out. "I'm not saying they should be kicked out or anything but…I would feel better if there was more of a police presence. Not even the X-Men and the Misfits together are going to be able to handle everything!"

"I've already talked to General Hawk and he agreed that he was going to establish a full time squad of Joes at Misfit Manor along with the Joes already assigned to the Misfits," Rocker said. "Their job is to train the new police force and provide backup when necessary."

"Since Cobra for the most part bit the dust General Whithalf was able to keep the unit together by slightly changing their mission statement," Logan explained. "Oh they still go after terrorists but now they also get to assist in mutant related incidents. That's why they're being allowed to build a base at the new Misfit Manor."

"And I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if you hurried along some more of Stark Industry technology to help them along, Tony darling," Emma purred.

"It's not just that. There's another problem which some of my more ecofriendly associates and critics are going to voice," Iron Man said. "Very loudly. Such as introducing foreign flora and fauna into the environment. You know? All those weird plants and animals Cobra La had? What kind of impact will they have on the environment? They could screw up the whole ecosystem!"

Just then some rabbits with super speed zoomed by. They were chased by some winged cats. "Dude, I think we crossed that line a **long time** ago," Bobby remarked.

"Crossed it? We left it behind at sixty miles an hour!" Logan remarked.

"Your concerns are valid that is why we are going to contain the different species of plants and animals within the borders of Bayville," Rocker said.

"What if they get out?" Iron Man asked. "We're already hearing reports of mutated creatures in the Arizona desert."

"Oh right. Those labs we wrecked," Bobby realized.

"What labs?" Iron Man asked.

"There were a few experimentation labs we took care of during the war," Bobby explained. "A lot of them were doing genetic studies on animals."

"What kind of studies…No wait…" Iron Man sighed as a winged cat flew by. "I think I can guess."

"But the X-Men took care of those labs and those genetically modified animals," Fury said.

"We got **most **of them," Logan growled.

"**Most** of them?" Fury gave him a look.

"Well not the ones in Bayville obviously," Logan said. "As for the others we were able to capture most of them and relocate them."

"There were a couple that escaped into the desert but we got most of them…" Bobby told the group.

"Wait…Hold on, relocate? You didn't kill them?" Fury was stunned.

"For the record I wanted to but some bleeding hearts refused to do it," Emma glared at Logan.

"Hey! I can't just kill an innocent animal that's been used as a test subject," Logan snapped. "People are one thing. Animals are another."

"Nice to see you have **some** priorities," Dracula quipped.

"I don't count Eyeliner Boy here in that category," Logan pointed to Randall.

"HEY!" Randall bristled. "Listen pal just because you have claws and are practically an animal yourself don't think you can insult just anyone whenever you feel like it!"

"I wasn't insulting just anyone. I was insulting **you,**" Logan remarked. "And if I really wanted to threaten you I wouldn't bother using my claws. I'd just get Penny."

"Who's Penny?" Iron Man blinked.

"Penance, the pink mutant with extra dense skin and sharp hair and claws," Fury explained.

"She also has a taste for the blood of anything fuzzy and loves maiming squirrels," Logan smirked. "But she's willing to settle for a raccoon in a pinch."

"That is abuse!" Randall screeched.

"No, it isn't. But I'll **show you** abuse if you don't shut your pie hole!" Logan growled.

FOOOOM!

"What the hell is that?" Fury yelled and pointed to the sky. "Is that a **skyscraper**?"

"Just a medium sized one," Jan shrugged. "We're bringing that downtown. It was one of our synthetic blood office buildings in Poland that we decided to relocate here."

"How do you relocate a **skyscraper?**" Hawkeye gasped.

"It's easy with wizard movers," Dracula waved. "But boy are we going to get stiffed when they hook us up to the water and power."

"Apparently that's where they really make their money," Bobby said.

"So there are **wizard plumbers** as well as movers?" Hawkeye was stunned.

"Uh yeah," Randall gave him a look. "Who do you think installs intricate plumbing and electrical systems in wizard lairs or vampire fortresses? They don't just give that job to anybody you know?"

"Every time I think this town can't get any crazier…" Iron Man groaned.

FLASH!

"What the hell is **that?**" Scott yelled as another building appeared through the portal.

"It looks like the Thundercats' Lair on that cartoon show," Bobby blinked.

"That's the traditional Cat People temple. It's also going to serve as their consulate building," Randall explained. "Oh yeah. We put in a few orders of our own."

"Orders? What kind of orders?" Emma asked. "Rocker do you know anything about these orders?"

"My deputy mayor must have handled them," Rocker realized. "I left those particular dealings to her."

"Yeah and she charged us an arm and a tail for them," Randall groaned. "Granted not as much as the wizard plumbers are going to but still…"

FOOM!

"Now that looks like a raccoon version of the Thundercats' Lair!" Fury was stunned. "Only there's a lot more gold on it!"

"What we can't have nice buildings too?" Randall snapped.

"Rocker I think we should have a word with your deputy mayor," Scott blinked.

"Since when did we elect a deputy mayor?" Bobby asked.

"We didn't. I picked her. Here she comes now," Rocker made a motion for someone to come over.

"You picked your deputy mayor?" Hawkeye blinked. "Is that normal procedure?"

"My assistant slash deputy mayor," Rocker sighed. "Probably not. Actually I think you X-Men might know her."

"Actually we've never met," A twenty something year old woman with stylish shoulder length brown hair wearing a red lady's suit with a white top and red shoes walked over to them. "For the most part. But Emma dear knows me."

"YOU!" Emma gasped. "What the hell are **you **doing here? I thought you were dead! Why are you **not dead?"**

"And hello to you too Emma," The young woman sighed. "Guess what? Surprise! I'm a mutant too. Have been for years. Not that you've ever noticed. Then again you never notice anything about anyone else. Except maybe for bad fashion which I see you still copy."

"Oh the girl who went punk and wore duct tape for a week is calling me fashion flawed?" Emma glared. "And how could you be a mutant? I could never sense anything in that empty head of yours!"

"Part of my mutation," The woman shrugged. "I can create illusions and have some empathic abilities. Technically I could be a telepath if not for a minor genetic quirk. You've heard of telepathic deafness?"

"Actually yes," Emma frowned. "It's a rare genetic disorder found in one out of a hundred and fifty telepaths. The ability for telepathy is there but it can't be accessed."

"On the up side, no telepath can read my mind either," The young woman smirked. "Sucks for you huh Emma?"

"I don't need to read your mind to know what a shallow manipulative witch you are!" Emma snarled. "Years of experience has taught me that!"

"Who do you think I **learned** it from?" The woman snapped.

"You little tramp…" Emma hissed.

"People who live in **glass whorehouses** shouldn't throw stones, Emma," The young woman smirked.

"I should throw you under a bus!" Emma snarled.

"Wait Emma you **know** this woman?" Scott asked.

"Nice to see that you surround yourself with such **observant **people, Emma darling," The young woman smirked and shook Scott's hand. "Cordelia Frost. Deputy Mayor."

"Frost as in…?" Scott's jaw dropped.

"Sister," Emma growled. "My sister."

"Emma's **younger** sister," Cordelia grinned.

"You have a sister?" Iron Man was stunned.

"I had two sisters and a brother," Emma explained. "I can't believe out of all the members of my family you're the only one **still alive! **Which is a miracle considering all those drugs you did in high school! By the way, I have to at least congratulate you on using your original hair color again! Black was so not your color."

"Neither was your original **brown **hair," Cordelia smirked. "Although I must admit your new nose is much better than your old one. Too bad I can't say the same about your breasts! Don't those implants give you back problems?"

"At least I **have** breasts," Emma glared at her sister. "You always were jealous of me and my body! Not to mention my standing within the family! And the fact that Father chose me over you!"

"Jealous? Of **you**? Please!" Cordelia snapped. "The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in some boring office all day with Father! When he chose you it took every ounce of self-control I had not to do a dance of pure glee! I only pretended to be slightly annoyed so Father wouldn't suspect I was planning on ditching that family after graduation!"

"Before actually," Emma sighed. "You never even showed up."

"I got it in the mail which was better than parading in front of all those losers!" Cordelia snapped. "Besides what do you care? It's not like you were there anyway! It's not like **anyone **from our family showed up at my graduation!"

"Our butler did and he was very annoyed that he had to spend his free day taping a graduation ceremony that you didn't even bother to show up to!" Emma fumed.

"Oh yes. Inconveniencing the **hired help** is such a bother," Cordelia snorted. "And how many maids did you have a hand in deporting? At least five!"

"Only two and they were stealing!" Emma bristled. "The others just left on their own."

"Before or after you found out they were sleeping with Father and you gave them nightmares?" Cordelia asked.

"That was just one when my powers first started acting up!" Emma snapped. Cordelia gave her a look. "Okay more than one. Three okay? But one of them I had nothing to do with leaving! I think she got pregnant or something I have no idea. I was getting my nose done at the time."

"That's right you had your first nose job during that whole Mimi thing," Cordelia thought. "By the way she wasn't really pregnant. She just needed cash to start her own cupcake business in the Bronx."

"How do you know?" Emma asked.

"I helped her for a cut," Cordelia shrugged. "To this day I get free cupcakes every time I go to New York."

"That explains your expanding waistline," Emma huffed.

"Not everyone gets liposuction every time they have **sandwich,"** Cordelia snarled. "Some of us can't live on vodka and sarcasm alone. Some of us have **real body parts** that need **real food**."

"It looks like your real body parts have had a lot of real food with a lot of **real calories**!" Emma quipped.

"And that's why I can drink twice as much as you and don't pass out after one tequila shooter!" Cordelia snarled.

"What happened on our family vacation in the Caribbean doesn't count!" Emma snapped. "I was only fifteen at the time!"

"I was thirteen and I still out drank you," Cordelia smirked. "What does **that **tell you?"

"That my sister is a lush as well as a drug addict!" Emma snarled.

"Hey! I have only had an aspirin for years! I've been off drugs since high school!" Cordelia snapped. "Okay I still drink but that's because of our family. You know how it was. It was either drink or kill yourself."

"Like Christian?" Emma said in an icy tone.

"I'm sorry to put it like that, but yes," Cordelia glared at her. "And you have Father to blame for that. Not me. I tried to help him and you know it!"

"Yes you helped him! Helped him with that overdose that sent him to the hospital!" Emma snarled.

"That wasn't me! He tried to commit suicide because Father broke up his relationship with his boyfriend! He used cold medication and whatever else he got his hands on in his medicine cabinet!" Cordelia snarled. "And I am not the one who made him hang himself with his own bed sheet!"

"Oh boy…" Bobby winced. "And I thought my family had issues?"

"I refuse to let you blame me any more for what happened with Christian," Cordelia glared at Emma. "Besides **you're** the one who had the telepathic powers. You could have stopped it all with Father and you **know** it! But you **didn't**. You stood back and did **nothing!** Oh wait you were busy at the time mooning over your pathetic lack of a love life."

"And you just had to make sure I didn't have any happiness at all didn't you?" Emma snarled.

"Oh we're not going back to ICK again are we?" Cordelia groaned. "For the last time, it was **not** me who told! That was Adrianne! She was always butting into everyone's love life because she couldn't get one of her own!"

"ICK?" Scott asked.

"Ian Chester Kendall," Cordelia explained. "The jerk who was once her high school teacher and her college teacher she had an affair with."

"You slept with your teacher in high school?" Jan asked. "Why am I not shocked?"

"Technically I didn't sleep with him until college," Emma corrected.

"Oh yeah that makes all the difference," Bobby rolled his eyes.

"It's not like I was taking his class at the time!" Emma bristled.

"Yeah**, that's** where she draws the line," Cordelia groaned.

"In high school I had a crush on him…" Emma began.

"A crush that involved several **personal tutoring sessions** at the McDonald's two towns over and the back seat of a car," Cordelia snorted.

"Front seat!" Emma snapped. "And it was only one kiss which I initiated!"

"Yeah **that's** a shocking revelation," Cordelia quipped.

"But **somehow** my father found out and got him removed from our private school!" Emma glared at Cordelia.

"Oh boo freaking hoo!" Cordelia snapped. "Somebody's daddy actually **cared **about her! I slept with two teachers and the principal and Father never even sent them an angry note!"

"You slept with the principal?" Emma was stunned. "The gym and art teacher I knew about but the **principal**? Well that explains how you passed your senior year."

"Oh yes **there **it is!" Cordelia threw up her hands. "There's that infamous Frost ego! You remember what Father used to say about school and our grades?"

"Yes that we were Frosts and we were expected to get A's," Emma frowned. "And it was nothing to celebrate when we did."

"And you remember the little clause when he gave that speech to **me**?" Cordelia asked. "You remember? 'Cordelia a Frost is expected to get A's but in your case I'll take what I can get.' And people wondered why I dyed my hair black, pierced my nose and became leader of a gang!"

"It was a prep school wannabe Goth gang!" Emma groaned.

"Hey I spent a lot of time on the streets as a kid," Cordelia snapped.

"The streets do **not **count if they are going to a **mall!**" Emma snapped. "Oh wait I suppose that drug ring you ran does count for something! You killed our brother!"

"Those were **not** my drugs he OD'd on!" Cordelia snapped. "Besides Father was to blame for his suicide and you know it!"

"Yeah and where were **you** when he died?" Emma snapped. "You were a no show for the whole thing until the funeral repast! When you walked in late, drunk and not wearing any underwear!"

"I was grieving in my own way," Cordelia huffed. "You know it wasn't just you who lost a brother you know? Christian and I were close too!"

"Yes you often went on drug binges together!" Emma snapped. "**You're** the one who should have died! Not him!"

Cordelia gave her a look. "You can't hurt me **that **way anymore, sister dear. I've put it behind me. Besides I'm not exactly the only one here who's made mistakes that were against the law now am I?"

"Does anybody know what the hell is going on now?" Hawkeye blinked.

"I gave up trying to figure it out when the raccoon building flew in," Fury moaned.

"It's like watching a train wreck," Dracula whispered. "I cannot look away."

"I know. It's like watching a live soap opera," Iron Man agreed.

"Yeah only better," Randall smirked.

"Welcome to a typical day in Bayville," Scott groaned. "Where the drama never stops!"

"I am not the one who ran around with a group of power hungry lunatics that had a fetish for taking over the world in corsets!" Cordelia glared at Emma.

"Not for lack of trying," Emma huffed. "You and that Neanderthal loser of a boyfriend couldn't get into a country club, much less the Hellfire Club! Speaking of which I don't see him. Did you finally dump his sorry ugly ass?"

"Actually…" Cordelia began.

A large Neanderthal like man with a big head and no neck sauntered over. He had wild black hair, huge bulging biceps and a face only a warthog mother could love. He was wearing jeans and a white shirt with a tan jacket and cowboy boots.

"Mondo heard fighting going on," The man said. "Boss you need Mondo's help?"

"No babe. I'm fine. This is my personal assistant Mondo," Cordelia introduced.

"Thank you for clearing that up," Emma said sarcastically. "And that answers my question. God I didn't think he could look any worse…"

"Unlike you I prefer to date men who have something to offer on the **inside,"** Cordelia sneered.

"You mean the inside of his jock strap!" Emma snapped.

"Ha! That's where you're wrong! Mondo don't even **wear **jock straps," Mondo puffed up his chest. "Too small!"

"Way too much information here," Logan winced.

"He used to work in the porn industry but left because they refused to film his face," Emma groaned.

"Hey Mondo was robbed! Mondo has plenty of charisma!" Mondo huffed. "The directors and actors were just jealous because Mondo had more talent than they ever did! Not to mention a bigger…"

"Yes, Yes! Mondo we get the picture," Cordelia interrupted.

"Just curious. What the hell is his power? Besides having a face that can stop traffic?" Logan remarked.

"Mondo is super strong and can absorb any metallic properties temporarily," Mondo posed. "Not to mention the power to give orgasms every freaking time he's with a woman."

"Yeah right," Logan snorted.

"Actually…" Cordelia smirked.

"You're joking?" Jan's jaw dropped.

"What Mondo lacks in looks he more than makes up for in…talent," Cordelia purred.

"Really?" Randall blinked. "Does Mondo have a sister?"

"Okay as of now this insane meeting of the mindless is adjourned!" Rocker snapped.

"I think we're done now," Scott groaned as he started to walk away. "Come on Emma."

"This isn't over you little drug addled witch!" Emma snarled.

"Right back at you, you oversexed under talented bitch!" Cordelia mocked.

"Why you…" Emma went to attack her sister.

"Come on Frost," Logan grabbed her and dragged her away. "She ain't worth it!"

"Dude why are you stopping it? Let them fight!" Randall protested.

"You want a fight you sexist rat keep talking!" Jan snapped.

"Why are we here again?" Hawkeye blinked.

"I have no idea…" Fury moaned.


	17. The Circle Of Life And Chocolate Donuts

**The Circle of Life and Chocolate Donuts**

While things in Bayville were going at their usual insane pace, more insanity was going on far away in a secret hideout in a swamp somewhere in South America.

"FOR THE LAST TIME TORCH! I SAID NO!" Zarana yelled.

"Aw come on!" Torch cried out. "I wanna build myself a flame throwing tank! Why can't I?"

"Do you really have to ask that after the fiasco three years ago with the flame throwing unicycle?" Zarana snarled in anger. "This place is enough of a dump without you mucking around with your bloody inventions!"

"It ain't that bad Zarana," Buzzer spoke up from the couch where he was sitting along with Monkeywrench and Road Pig. They were sitting in front of a large TV with a coffee table full of grape soda and donuts.

"Most of the good stuff is downstairs in the secret bunker and this part's all for show anyway in case some bloke shows up or something," Buzzer went on.

"Yeah and this couch doesn't have rats in it," Monkeywrench indicated the green couch they were on.

"No, it just has rats **sitting** on it," Zandar leaned against the hardwood wall and looked at them, arms folded.

"Where? I just see Buzzer, Monkeywrench and Road Pig?" Torch asked. "There ain't no rats there."

"And you wonder why Zanya spends most of her time downstairs in her room," Zarana groaned. "Girl's got the right idea she has. Bad enough her father had to take off in order to protect all of us but being stuck here in this swamp with this lot is enough to drive anybody batty!"

"At least we got TV," Buzzer said. "Good thing we hijacked and took over that cable satellite a couple years ago and converted it so we could get any signal from any TV station we want."

"Yeah turn it on!" Torch said as he sat in a brown chair nearby. "I think they're showing Destro's trial on CNN!"

"Not exactly, they're just reading the charges," Monkeywrench said.

"In addition to the numerous charges of murder, genocide, arms dealing, terrorism and conspiring with others for terrorism," The Prosecutor went on in a large courtroom. "The accused is charged with at least fifty cases of assault, forty nine counts of kidnaping, a hundred and fifty seven counts of harboring a fugitive from the police, three counts of tax fraud, fifteen counts of mail fraud, one charge of extreme cruelty to an animal life form…"

"What?" Monkeywrench blinked. "When was this?"

"That big blob of goo with teeth at the bottom of the well he had in his old castle a ways back…" Torch explained. "Some animal rights nuts found out about it and claimed it was a rare species or something. They've been after him for that since the 80's."

"Well I guess a giant mutated monster would be considered a rare and endangered species," Zarana sighed.

"Blackmail…" The Prosecutor kept going. "Nineteen counts of illegally dumping toxic waste, a hundred and fifty seven counts of receiving stolen goods…"

"Only a hundred and fifty seven? We've given him more than that as gag gifts!" Torch snorted.

"Remember the time we stole that whole lot of penguins from the zoo and stuck 'em in his bedroom?" Buzzer laughed.

"Yeah and it was Ripper's idea to make the temperature subzero so we could put in a slip in slide made of ice and freeze Destro's waterbed," Torch laughed. "Ah good times."

"Jury tampering…" The Prosecutor went on. "At least two hundred counts of internet fraud…"

"Internet fraud?" Torch blinked. "Wait wasn't that us?"

"Oh yeah. That was the time we decided to 'borrow' one of Destro's e-mail addresses for that work at home craft making scheme," Zarana remembered. "Boy was that a mistake."

"…Money laundering, a dozen counts of funding illegal genetic experimentation," The prosecutor went on. "Ten counts of making counterfeit money. Ten counts of distributing counterfeit money. Five counts of distributing counterfeit paintings, three counts of distributing counterfeit merchandise…"

"Who knew back then people would get so upset over fake Beanie Babies?" Torch remarked.

"Twenty charges of hit and run, twenty charges of leaving the scene of an accident, two counts of drunk driving, eighteen counts of driving while texting…"

"Oh come on! In a lot of countries that last one isn't even illegal!" Destro protested. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit along with his usual mask and in shackles.

"And lastly participating in a fraudulent telethon," The prosecutor finished the charges.

"That last one is illegal?" Destro asked.

"It is now," The prosecutor gave him a look.

"Really? **That's **where you draw the line?" Destro asked.

"Oh this is going to be a cornucopia of entertainment," Road Pig laughed in his Donald voice. "It so warms my heart to see that upper class Scottish twit get what's coming to him."

"Y-Yeah! Serves him r-right for always m-making fun of us!" Road Pig finished.

"Least we ain't stupid enough to get caught," Buzzer snorted.

"You got that right Buzzer! Nobody is gonna find us Dreadnoks here!" Torch smirked as he ate a donut.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"You just had to **say** that didn't you Torch?" Zarana groaned as the door to their cabin blew up. Someone strutted in through some smoke. "**Now** what?"

"All right you posers!" A muscular dark skinned man snarled in an Australian accent. "I'm looking for Harry Nod! Which one of you losers is him?" He had long dreadlocks in his hair, wore a red T-Shirt with tan jeans, a tan jacket with the sleeves torn out, huge tan boots, a couple of knives strapped on in various places and black sunglasses on his face. His face looked like he hadn't shaved in days.

"Who the hell is Harry Nod?" Torch snapped. "I never heard of a bloke by that name."

"That's Ripper's real name you clot!" Buzzer snarled.

"Oh right…" Torch scratched his head.

"Yeah, that's my old man's name!" The thug snarled. "Now tell me where he is so I can beat the snot out of him!"

"What? What do you mean? Ripper never had no kids!" Torch snapped.

"Uh actually Torch, he did," Monkeywrench remembered. "Remember he once told us a story of how he knocked up three babes in High School?"

"Yeah and my old lady was the only one stupid enough not to get an abortion!" The intruder snarled. "The name's Harry Skipperton! But everybody calls me Crusher! And these are my ladies: Dorothy, Blanche and Rose!" He pointed to three dingoes with large collars of blue, red and yellow behind him.

"You named them after the characters in the Golden Girls?" Buzzer blinked.

"You got a problem with the Golden Girls?" Crusher snarled.

"Nah I just was wondering why there's no Sophia," Buzzer shrugged.

"That's this beauty here!" Crusher indicated his rifle.

"Oh okay now that all makes sense," Buzzer nodded. "Continue."

"Anyway I'm looking for my old man and I wanna have a few words with the deadbeat before I beat the crap out of him," Crusher snarled.

"Well you're a bit late for that," Monkeywrench said. "Your old man bit the big one months ago."

"You mean he's dead?" Crusher asked.

"As the proverbial doornail," Road Pig spoke in Donald's voice.

"What happened?" Crusher asked.

"He got shot by the Joes," Zarana told him.

"So you're saying I ain't getting any money or beer?" Crusher blinked.

"Wow, you really are Ripper's kid aren't you?" Buzzer blinked.

"How did you find us?" Zarana snapped.

"Oh me mum had an old jock strap of my old man she held onto," Crusher explained. "Gave it to my girls and it led them right to ya!" The dingos whined and snarled as they headed towards Monkeywrench.

"Oh right," Monkeywrench looked down at his chest. "This vest used to be Ripper's. I took it from his stash." Everyone looked at him. "Well I needed a new vest and he ain't gonna need it no more! It's not like I took it off his corpse."

"Oh well…So there's really no point in me hanging around here is there?" Crusher groaned.

"Now hang on…" Zandar spoke up. "Let's not be hasty here."

"Zandar are you bleeding nuts?" Zarana gave her twin a look.

"Look the man has some obvious skills in tracking and weaponry and we are short one Dreadnok," Zandar spoke up.

"Hold on, just because his old man was one of us don't mean that we're just gonna let this blighter waltz in here and be one of us!" Torch snapped.

"Yeah what makes **him** qualified to be a Dreadnok?" Buzzer snapped.

"Let's see…I got warrants for my arrest in five countries and two islands," Crusher said.

"That's **all?**" Monkeywrench snorted.

"That's a slow weekend for us!" Torch snorted.

"In addition to being an expert tracker and able to tame dingos to fetch beer cans as well as attack I got crossbow skills, expertise in several weapons and a black belt in judo," Crusher said.

"Boring!" Torch called out.

"We'll give you points for the training dingos part but still…" Buzzer said.

"I've got experience in gun running, rum running, illegal poaching, smuggling and I'm teaching myself some computer courses," Crusher said.

"You and everybody else we meet," Torch said.

"I once killed fifteen men just because they insulted me," Crusher added.

"Meh…" Road Pig waved.

"I once blew up a police station," Crusher said.

"Who **hasn't?**" Torch asked. "What else you got?"

"Well I got a souped up swamp runner with twin powered laser cannons and a jet engine that makes the Batmobile look like an antique," Crusher added. "And in the back I got my own ATV with lasers on 'em…"

"So you got a couple of vehicles? Big deal, not impressed!" Torch scoffed.

"Also got two cases of beer, a case of bacon flavored jerky, another case of candy layered bacon…"Crusher began.

"Hang on…" Monkeywrench perked up. "Now we're talking!"

"Beer and bacon flavored stuff we can get anywhere…" Torch snapped.

"Plus all one hundred and fifty nine issues of Big Breasted Babes on Bikes including all the special editions and Christmas issues," Crusher finished.

"All of 'em?" Buzzer's eyes widened.

"Including the rare and hard to find Christmas issue of 98 with the triple jointed Ms. December?" Torch asked.

"Yup," Crusher smirked. "One of the editors is my cousin. I get 'em all free."

"He's got connections. That's definitely a plus!" Buzzer spoke up.

"I still don't know…" Torch grunted. "It's gonna take more than booze, bacon and broads to win me over."

"I also got one of those satellite radios I rigged up to get all the heavy metal music stations for free," Crusher said.

"Welcome to the Dreadnoks kid!" Torch opened his arms wide. "Give your ol' mate Torch a hug!"

"Way to hold out Torch," Zandar groaned. "But we do need another Dreadnok."

"Not to mention some decent music around here," Zarana agreed. "We gotta clear it with Zanya first but as far as I'm concerned…"

"I also got every season of Golden Girls and Golden Palace on DVD," Crusher said.

"Oh I like this kid," Buzzer snorted.

"So you got anything to eat around here?" Crusher asked. "Like Pork Rinds or some fried Twinkies?"

"Sorry kid," Torch shrugged as he pointed to the table. "We got chocolate donuts and grape soda."

"Oooh, nothing but the best in this place ain't it?" Crusher brightened. "Don't mind if I do!"

"So what exactly have you been doing all these years?" Zarana asked as Crusher sat on the sofa. His dingoes lay on the floor.

"Ah ya know. Did a bit of wrestling, a bit of animal poaching…That's how I met the girls here," Crusher shrugged as he petted Rose's head. "Like I said, gun running. This and that. Anything to get out of the house…"

"All right what the bloody hell is going on up here?" Zanya the green haired nineteen year old daughter of Zartan stormed into the room. "Who the hell is this? And what are all these stupid mutts doing here?"

The dingoes growled. "SHUT IT!" Zanya snarled. The dingoes whimpered and cowered in terror. "Now start talking!"

"Oh this is Crusher, Ripper's kid," Torch pointed. "He's joining the group."

"That moron actually managed to **reproduce**?" Zanya snorted. "Well he certainly smells like Ripper that's for sure."

"Who are you?" Crusher asked.

"I'm Zanya! Leader of the Dreadnoks! Got a problem with that?" Zanya snarled.

"**You're** in charge?" Crusher blinked. "Okay."

"You're just gonna accept that?" Monkeywrench asked. "Most blokes hit the roof when they hear a teenage girl leads our group."

"Dude, I have a half-sister just a little younger than her and she's the meanest, nastiest piece of work you ever saw," Crusher told him. "Being bossed by a girl ain't exactly new territory for me."

"Half-sister?" Zandar asked.

"Yeah a while back me mum got knocked up in a bar by some bloke named Tom Winken and she's been looking to beat the crap out of him as soon as she could walk," Crusher shrugged.

"Tom Winken? What kind of stupid name is that?" Torch snickered.

"That's **your **name Torch!" Zarana shouted.

"It is? Are you sure?" Torch blinked.

"Check the label on your vest," Buzzer groaned.

Torch checked. "Oh yeah. That is me. Uh oh…"

"Oh God no…" Zandar moaned.

"Now wait a minute, we don't know it's me for sure!" Torch pointed out. "There could be at least a dozen blokes named Tom Winken."

"Mom said that her Tom Winken was a red haired fire obsessed idiot with the memory of a goldfish," Crusher said.

"Who was?" Torch blinked.

"Oh crap it's **him **all right," Monkeywrench moaned. "Congratulations Torch, you're a Daddy!"

"I am? When did **that** happen?" Torch blinked.

"Am I interrupting something?" Someone said.

They turned around and saw a muscular man with long black hair in a topknot. He had an eye patch over his right eye and a long thin black mustache. His chest was bare except for a brown vest with a pair of metal shoulder pads on them. He had long green pants with a black belt buckle with a silver wolf head on them. His boots were brown and he had a sword strapped to his back and a blaster holster attached to his belt.

"Zanzibar! I should have known you would come crawling around sooner or later begging for cash!" Zanya snarled. "If anyone could find this dump it's you!"

"And me!" Crusher called out.

"What? Can't your favorite uncle just drop in unannounced just because the cops are after him and he needs a place to hide out?" Zanzibar asked.

"Since when are **you** our favorite uncle?" Zanya snarled.

"I'm the only one you haven't **shot** at," Zanzibar told her. "Not to mention I'm the only one still alive."

"I still prefer the alligators to you," Zandar grumbled.

"If my father was here you wouldn't dare show your ugly face!" Zanya snarled.

"Well he ain't is he? That's cause your poor old man bit the proverbial dust," Zanzibar snorted.

"Actually Zartan…" Torch began. Buzzer and Monkeywrench hit him hard on the head. "OW!"

"Shaddup you blinking moron!" Buzzer snarled.

"Hmmm…By the way Torch is it true Zartan killed the Blind Master or is that all a load of hooey like I think?" Zanzibar asked.

"Oh no, **that part** is true! Killed him by accident but definitely killed him," Torch said.

"**That part** is true? So what _isn't_ true?" Zanzibar raised an eyebrow.

"Uhhh…Nothin'," Torch gulped.

"My nephew is still alive isn't he?" Zanzibar smirked. "I **knew** it!"

"TORCH!" Zanya snarled.

"Way to go stupid!" Buzzer hit Torch on the head again.

"Should have known better to let you in on the whole thing!" Monkeywrench spat.

"Three ways to get info across! Television, telephone…Tell Torch!" Zarana snapped.

"So he killed another ninja and that is why Zartan is playing dead," Zanzibar chuckled. "Oh don't look so surprised I figured it out. I'm not stupid you know?"

"Could have fooled me," Zanya snarled as she knocked her uncle down with a kick and pulled out a knife. "It was pretty stupid of you to come back here after what you did!"

"Okay…Okay I admit that our last job together all those years ago didn't quite go as planned and that was my fault!" Zanzibar gulped in terror as Zanya held a knife to his throat. "I take full responsibility for that! Mea Culpa!"

"You're damn right it was your fault you bligher!" Zarana snarled.

"Slash him good Zanya!" Zandar snarled.

"Okay in retrospect maybe it was not a good idea for me to put the money with all those explosives," Zanzibar gulped.

"Idea? You were bloody high as a kite!" Zarana yelled. "We lost a fortune 'cause of you!"

"And three of our boats!" Zandar snarled. "Not to mention we nearly lost our lives!"

"You nearly killed us all!" Zarana snarled.

"I know! I know! I don't do that anymore! See one of the steps in my program is to apologize and make restitution for all the wrong I did!" Zanzibar gulped. "Look I ain't had a drink or any drugs in over two years! Smell my breath! I don't have any alcohol in your system!"

"Ugh," Zanya winced. "No, but you could use some mouthwash!"

"Oh, that's the falafel I had for breakfast," Zanzibar winced. "Sorry about that. But I mean it Zanya! I am clean and sober! Mostly…"

"Crusher…Congratulations you are now a Dreadnok," Zanya snarled. "**Anything** is an improvement to our group than this fool!"

"Okay. You want my dingoes to tear him to pieces?" Crusher asked as the dingos got up and snarled.

"Let's just keep that option on the table for now," Zanya snarled. "Okay Zanzibar, who are you running from now?"

"Nobody in particular, just a few drug cartels," Zanzibar admitted. "Maybe a Hong Kong mobster or two. And the authorities but that's pretty much a given so…"

Zanya applied pressure on Zanzibar's chest with her foot. "URK! Zanya please! I'm family! You gotta let me back in the Dreadnoks!" Zanzibar pleaded.

"Why should I let you back into the Dreadnoks?" Zanya snarled. "What about your own gang?"

"Yeah, where are all those hotshots you said were better than us?" Buzzer folded his arms.

"Oh them. Well it didn't work out…" Zanzibar explained. "You know how it is? We all wanted different things. I decided that the group wasn't working out so well so I went in a different direction."

"They kicked you out didn't they?" Zanya smirked.

"I prefer to think that I was not happy in management and decided that my true calling was elsewhere," Zanzibar explained.

"And when did you decide **that?**" Zanya asked.

"When I got thrown over by my second in command and the entire gang started shooting at me," Zanzibar admitted. "But I am now a hundred and ten percent committed to the Dreadnoks! No more takeover schemes for me! I promise!"

"And we all know what that's worth!" Zanya pulled away the knife and got off him. "But you are family and Zartan taught me not to kill family at least without a last chance. So listen well Zanzibar, you make one false step…Just one hint of rebellion or treason…And I **will** let Crusher's dingoes have what's left of you? Understand?"

"Got it! You won't regret this boss!" Zanzibar gulped as he stood up.

"I already do," Zanya snarled. "So is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"Uhh…" Zanzibar scratched his head.

"ARE YOU DONE IN THERE YET?" A shrieking voice was heard. "FORGET IT! I'M COMING IN!" A teenage girl stormed in. She had bright red and orange hair in a ponytail, a dog collar spiked necklace, pierced ears and a nose piercing. She wore a midriff baring red T-Shirt with broken pink heart on it, torn green sleeveless vest, a green pair of pants with a studded black belt and a pair of black combat boots.

"Oh right, this chick paid me a grand to hitch a ride," Zanzibar said casually. "Said she was looking for you Torch."

"TORCH? Which one 'of you losers is Torch?" The girl snarled in an Australian accent. She saw Crusher. "Harry! I should have known you were hiding here!"

"Uh hi sis…" Crusher gulped. The dingoes cowered in fear. "Everyone this is my half-sister, Hanna. AKA Heartwrencher."

"Yeah cause I like to use **this** in order to get what I want!" Heartwrencher pulled out a huge wrench. "Now which one of you losers is Tom Wilken, AKA Torch?"

All the Dreadnoks pointed to Torch. "What?" Torch blinked. "Hey you look familiar? Did I happen to bang your…?"

Just then Heartwrencher jumped on Torch and began wailing on him. "OW! OW! OW!" Torch wailed in pain. "THAT ANSWERS THAT QUESTION! OWWW!"

"What is this? Bloody Family Reunion Day?" Buzzer shouted. "What? Is my Mum gonna walk in through that door next? Or Monkeywrench's Cousin Dave?"

"I hope not. Cousin Dave's been dead for over six years," Monkeywrench said. "And I killed him. Whoo, that would be awkward!"

"You bloody loser!" Heartwrencher snarled as she beat her father. "How dare you leave me alone with my idiot brother and my drunken witch of a mother? YOU…$%%$$^^###!"

"Wow that's a swear word I didn't even know," Donald remarked.

"M-Me neither," Road Pig agreed.

"Okay…HOLD IT! KNOCK IT OFF FOR A MINUTE!" Zanya snarled.

"What? This moron has it coming!" Heartwrencher snarled as she stopped.

"I'm well aware he does. But to be fair, he has the memory span of a goldfish. I don't think he purposely abandoned you as much as…well forgot," Zanya sighed. "Besides I need this idiot for manual labor."

"Really?" Heartwrencher gave Zanya a look.

"Uh huh," Zanya folded her arms.

"Uh oh…This is not gonna be good…" Crusher gulped.

"You're loud, violent, opinionated and boss your older brother around," Zanya gave her a look. "I like you."

"Hmm, you're mean, bossy and you look like you're one of the few people here with any sense of style and brains," Heartwrencher nodded. "Wanna drink some soda and talk about how we all seem to be surrounded by morons?"

"Cool," Zanya smirked.

"Cool," Heartwrencher smirked. Then she glared at Torch. "Don't think this gets you off the hook, **Dad!**"

"Don't worry, if you stick around I'm sure you will have **plenty** of chances to torture him," Zanya snickered. "You want that soda now?"

"Lead the way," Heartwrencher said.

"I'm Zanya, leader of the Dreadnoks," Zanya said as they went downstairs. "Well at least until my loser of a father gets back."

"Is yours as dumb as mine?" Heartwrencher asked.

"No, but he's got really rotten luck," Zanya admitted.

"What just happened?" Torch blinked as he sat up.

"I think my sister and your boss just became friends," Crusher blinked. "Weird. She's never had one before."

"So in addition to the usual Dreadnok Suspects we have now been joined by the Son of Ripper and his bitches," Zarana groaned. "His brat of a half-sister who by some miracle of Satan is Torch's daughter and our deadbeat loser uncle? Zartan is just gonna **love** this."

"Zartan isn't even **here**," Torch pointed out.

"And soon neither will I!" Zandar began to storm out. "I'm out of here!"

"Zandar! Don't…Oh bloody hell I can't blame him," Zarana groaned.


	18. Bayville We Have A Skrull Problem

**Bayville We Have a Skrull Problem**

Exactly one day after the incident with the Frost Sisters came an important event that not only shaped Bayville even further, but the entire world.

This event also made another odd shaped dent in the relationship between the X-Men and the Avengers.

The event known as the Skrull Invasion.

Before we go ahead in describing one this critical event in time I think it's important that the reader understand how the political system was starting to take shape in Bayville.

Trust me. It's important.

About three days before the Skrull Invasion on the day the Snake People officially moved into Bayville, the town had their first official elections for town council. And by elections I mean anybody who wanted to be on the council would put their names on the ballot and hope somebody else would vote for them.

In this first election the mutants would choose which mutant representatives would go on the town council and the same for the humans for their representative. The other species would choose one by their own design.

And by election only three mutants wrote down their names and three wrote in fictional characters such as Garfield the Cat, Daffy Duck and Duncan from Total Drama Island. Several other mutants were nominated and their names were written in by other people.

By the way Garfield the Cat won by a landslide among the fictional cartoon characters, in case anyone is interested. Of course since Garfield was fictional at least in this particular reality, his votes didn't count.

On the human side it had already been discussed who would represent the small but growing human population. Only one really wanted to do it and the other two were talked into it. One of the two that were talked into it was Stevie Hunter, who was well respected by the mutants for all her efforts during the war to shelter and smuggle them away from the MRD without getting caught.

The other was Benny Barumpbump who had agreed to move to Bayville to try and help rebuild it along with his girlfriend Zaladane. For his part in defeating Apocalypse Benny was liked by both humans and mutants. After many talks he finally agreed to stay on the town council until the town got on its feet.

Besides the humans figured having a magic user on the council gave them some equal footing with the mutants.

(Of course we all know that Benny stayed on the town council for much, much longer than that. Even after he became the new Sorcerer Supreme permanently. But that is another story for another day.)

The only human that willingly put his name on the ballot was Harvey Lafruff the overweight effeminate human who had connections with GI Joe and once run a summer camp both the X-Men and Hellions went to was the human member. Most of the humans were too busy rebuilding their lives and families to think about politics.

Bayville's original town council was to have exactly three humans and three mutants. That way both human and mutants would be perfectly represented and to make the government run smoothly. Now it had grown with a vampire representative, a werewolf representative, a Cat Person representative, a were-raccoon representative, a representative from the Were Animals Association and now a representative of the Snake People.

Needless to say things were already starting to get a bit complicated.

Especially when the news of the vampires being allies of the Snake People had broken. Randall Ring Tail who just happened to be the 'elected' official representing the Were Raccoons started thinking this might not be a bad time to make alliances of his own. So he quickly made them with the Werewolves (Who hated the vampires.).

In short, the Vampires would back any proposals or deals the Snake People would come up with and vice versa.

The Werewolves and the Were Raccoons would back each other up and the Were Raccoons would voice the objections of the Snake People staying on behalf of the wolves.

The Were Animals Alliance in turn made a deal to stick with the Cat People who hated the vampires and the werewolves and the Were-Raccoons. Unfortunately the Were Animals got confused and also made a similar deal with the Were Raccoons even though they didn't want to make any deals with either the vampires or the werewolves.

Due to the fact that the majority of other various were animals had the collective IQ of a drunken frat house they ended up making deals with both sides. Their waffling would cause several problems in many future meetings.

Buck was the chosen representative of the Were Animal Alliance and he was high at the time he made both deals. So he was pretty much on the fence.

This left both the humans and the mutants no alternative but to make alliances with each other because of the simple fact there was no one else left to make a deal with.

In other words the lines were already being drawn among the species and the formula for chaos was being set in motion. This threatened to split the town up before the first session of town council even started.

Until of course fate intervened. And by fate I mean the Skrull Empire.

Let's go to the evening after the Frost Sisters' fight. This had already been reported and exaggerated through the entire town. Now that little tidbit was over, the town had once again began to concentrate on the influx of new immigrants to the town and no one complained more than the mutants.

"So let me get this straight…" The gray teen with gray hair spoke up to a group of mutants taking a break from working on houses. "The wolves sold some of their land to the vampires who in turn sold some of their land to the Snake People. And now the wolves are mad that they did that so they got the Raccoons in their pocket to raise a stink."

"That's about the gist of it Terry," Solomon O'Sullivan let out a breath as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He was working on the foundation of a new studio building along with a few other familiar mutants. He wore jeans and a sleeveless T-shirt which revealed all the writing on his leathery body.

"And to think we used to worry about the humans living here," Terry grumbled.

"It's not the humans living here that bothers me so much," Dreamsicle the orange teleporting mutant spoke up. "They accept us and want to make this work. It's the humans living all around us that have got me worried."

"What do you mean?" Scaleface, the former female Morlock that could change into dragon asked.

"Before and during the war the Wolves were buying up all kinds of territory and land," Solomon explained. "And not all of it was in Bayville. Some of it was right next to Bayville in other towns. Right on the border. Ashton Falls, Mill Creek, Clam Cove and Cape Island. Most of it was from Ashton Falls. And Ashton Falls hasn't exactly had good relations in the past with Bayville."

"I sense we're about to get a history lesson," Scaleface mocked.

"Back when the Pilgrims were moving in and the colonists were just setting up shop in the New World, Ashton Falls and Bayville were supposed to be one town. But the two men founding it had a difference of opinion and the town split in two," Solomon told them. John Ashton founded Ashton Falls and Thomas Bay founded Bayville. The two towns have had a bit of a rivalry ever since."

"So what does this have to do with the wolves?" Dreamsicle asked.

"Not just the wolves. Remember the vampires and were animals bought some territory too," Solomon spoke up. "And after the war they still had a legal claim to the land. So Nick Fury along with a few government legal eagles decided since those guys owned the land anyway…"

"Are you saying Bayville **stole **some land from other towns?" Terry was stunned.

"I thought the town looked a lot bigger than before," Scaleface blinked.

"Well technically we took all of Cape Island but since half the houses were already foreclosed and the other half were flipped and sold for a profit…" Solomon said. "Nobody was really left there to begin with. But the other towns are still pissed at us. Yeah."

"And it was bad enough the wolves and their friends stole the land, now we got the vampire's best buddies the Snake People moving in. Who attacked us less a few days ago!" Dreamsicle groaned.

"That's how it goes," Scaleface grumbled. "Big time X-Men screwing it up for the rest of us! I **knew** I should have gone to Genosha with Magneto!"

"Can't anybody do anything? Complain to the mayor?" Dreamsicle asked.

"Fat lot of good that will do," Scaleface grumbled. "Rocker is the one who made the decision for those snakes to come here in the first place."

"Look! There's some kind of commotion going on!" Terry pointed to a small crowd making their way to Rocker's tent.

"Hey Shirley! What's going on?" Solomon called out to the familiar pink mutant.

"We're all going to have an official protest and complaint against the Snake People! Come on! It'll be fun!" Shirley called out.

"What the hell? This should be good," Solomon shrugged as he and his group went to join the crowd.

The group's leaders consisted of the three mutant council members and one of the human ones aka Harvey Lafruff. One of the three mutants chosen by their peers was Callisto. Mostly because of her past leadership experience with the Morlocks.

The other two were the stretching Jersey mutant Lonnie 'Stretch' Derossi (He'd been elected because he had 'connections'. (He knew one of the women from the Real Housewives of New Jersey and had a cousin who was a cameraman on the Jersey Shore.) And finally Alejandro 'El Aquid' AKA 'The Eagle' Montoya.

The Eagle was a Spanish born mutant from Madrid who had come to New York as a teenager when his family emigrated looking for a better life. As he grew up during the 80's he discovered he had the mutant power of generating electricity much like Berserker. He was also a champion swordsman. After doing some minor crime fighting he found his niche in the theater, keeping his powers under wraps and had achieved some fame as a Telenova soap opera star.

During the war he had joined the MLF and was a very popular and charismatic cell leader, launching daring raids on MRD facilities and posting many videos online. Despite his tendency to refer to himself as 'The Eagle' in third person, he was very popular among the mutant crowd and a charismatic speaker. That charisma got him elected by a landslide. Especially since he didn't put his name on the ballot. (He was a write in by many of his female admirers).

"Rocker! Rocker! We need to talk to you!" Callisto shouted as they approached the tent.

"The mayor is very busy," Cordelia Frost walked out with Mondo. "And if this is about what I think this is about, there's no point in complaining."

"Oh I think there is!" Callisto snarled. "Tell the mayor to get his ass out here! We want to submit a formal protest!" The crowd behind her cheered.

"Look the mayor's office understands your concerns and…" Cordelia Frost said.

"You're not the mayor! You're just his glorified secretary," Callisto snarled.

"Excuse me, but technically **Mondo** is the glorified secretary," Mondo spoke up from behind Cordelia. "Ms. Frost is deputy mayor."

"Yeah. A deputy mayor means she runs around following the Mayor's orders!" Solomon spoke up.

"We the people want to express our grievances now!" Another mutant called out.

"Rocker's not even here! He's…" Cordelia began.

"What's going on?" Rocker walked up to them.

"Not here huh?" Stretch sneered. "I suppose that's a hologram?"

"I thought you were going off to talk to the X-Men?" Cordelia asked.

"Oh that can wait. What is going on here?" Rocker asked.

"What is going on is an infringement of our liberty and property! That is what's going on!" Stretch snapped.

"Technically that's not true Stretch," Shirley said. "What it's really about is those Snake People!" The crowd agreed.

"Pardon me, Harvey Laffruff, human liason to the town council," A fat, effeminate man with long blond hair down to his shoulders, white shirt and overalls made his way forward.

"We know who you are Harvey," Cordelia groaned.

"Now while I agree that Bayville should be a place of tolerance and acceptance I have to say that I share the concerns my mutant friends have with all the extra diversity going on," Harvey said. "I just think we should have formed a committee and a sharing session fully exploring the impact of Rocker's decision as well as sharing our feelings…"

"Harvey, appreciate the support but can you do me a favor?" Stretch groaned. "Shut up and let **us **handle this?"

"Listen Rocker, this is supposed to be a **mutant** sanctuary!" Callisto fumed. "Okay I understand we need some humans here to promote peace. And I get the fact that the werewolves and vampires and other Supes were forced on you by SHIELD. You didn't have a choice in that. But letting those Snake People in here? That's just one step too far!"

"Especially without consulting the town council," Eagle huffed. "This is supposed to be a democracy last I checked."

"Well if this is a democratic meeting of a town council then it is only fair that I come and join the discussion," Dracula walked over.

"What's **he **doing here?" Shirley asked.

"Dracula is the new vampire representative of Bayville," Stretch explained.

"Hold on, Dracula is moving to Bayville?" Solomon asked.

"There goes the freaking neighborhood," Scaleface moaned.

"Hey better him than that bitch Jan," Shirley huffed.

"She's moving here too," Dracula overheard them.

"Oh crap," Shirley grumbled.

"Let me guess, you're going to plead the case for your **friends** the Snake People," Stretch said sarcastically.

"Excuse me, I believe I can…" Dracula began when he suddenly blinked. "Very interesting."

"What?" Rocker asked. "What are you looking at?"

"An early dinner," Dracula smirked. Then with superhuman speed he grabbed Rocker and sank his teeth into his throat.

"HOLY CRAP!" Mondo yelled.

"He's out of control!" Stretch screamed like a little girl. "I don't wanna die!" He ran away as fast as he could. Some other mutants did the same.

"Oh dear!" Harvey gulped. "I was warned negotiations would be aggressive but not **this **aggressive!"

"I **knew** this was a mistake! Those damn vamps are gonna…" Callisto swore. Then she noticed something. Rocker turning a dark shade of green. "What the…?"

"Wait, since when can Rocker turn green?" Mondo blinked.

"He can't! That's not Rocker!" Cordelia gasped. "It's some kind of shapeshifter!"

"Of course not," Dracula remarked as he threw down the drained, dead alien body. "Do you really think I would actually eat the mayor in front of witnesses?"

"A little warning next time you do that!" Cordelia snapped. "You nearly gave us all a heart attack!"

"Tastes like General Tso's Chicken, broccoli and all," Dracula licked his lips.

"Okay that is just disturbing," Mondo recoiled at the dead body. "That thing looks worse than a can of steamed broccoli. And Mondo hates broccoli."

"Ugh…" Rocker staggered up to the group holding his head. "Where's the aspirin when you need it? Never mind. I found something better." He went into the tent and came out with a bottle of Scotch.

"Ah that's the stuff," Rocker said as he drank from the bottle.

"Rocker! I mean…This thing looked like you!" Cordelia gasped as she pointed to the dead alien.

"Yeah I got jumped from behind and the next thing I knew I was in the woods somewhere," Rocker groaned. "I think these aliens were trying to abduct me."

"And take your place," Harvey nodded. "How did you get away?"

"Well…" Rocker remarked.

"RARRR!"

"AAAAAH! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

"What the hell…?" Solomon blinked.

Two Skrulls ran by screaming. They barely kept ahead of three werewolves in wolf form. "Oh," Harvey blinked. "Apparently the vampires aren't the only ones that can sense alien shape shifters."

"I admit I had my doubts when Fury hoisted those fur balls on us," Rocker said. "But now I'm starting to change my mind."

"Maybe those creeps aren't so bad for Bayville after all?" Callisto admitted.

"You're welcome," Dracula said dryly.

"CHEEE! CHEEE!"

"AAAAHHH!" Another Skrull ran by. He was on fire and being chased by mutant squirrels shooting lasers from their eyes.

"I'm also changing my position on mutant squirrels," Eagle added.

"Hold on…Shouldn't somebody call the X-Men on this?" Mondo realized something. "I mean they are kind of responsible for stuff like this."

"Actually we were just about to contact **you,**" Emma said as she walked up with Scott Jean and Logan.

"Guys! You are not going to believe it! There's these shape shifting aliens…" Harvey began.

"Yeah we know," Logan sighed. "They're called Skrulls. Two of those guys tried to impersonate Cyclops and Emma Frost."

"RARRRRRRRRR!"

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" A female Skrull ran by. She was being chased by Penny.

"Didn't really last too long," Logan sighed.

"FYI. They tried to replace me too," Rocker said. "Fortunately for me Dracula had a hankering for General Tso's Chicken."

"What?" Scott blinked.

"Don't ask," Cordelia groaned. "So what's the story with these things?"

"Alien shape shifters. These guys can not only copy your appearance, they can become you right down to the memories," Logan explained. "Making them almost undetectable to scanners and even DNA trackers."

"HELP! HELP!" Several Skrulls ran by. They were being chased by Penny, Xi, vampires, Werewolves and angry mutant squirrels.

"I think we might have found one or two ways to detect Skrulls," Scott said sarcastically.

"Wait how come the wolves, vampires and squirrels could detect the Skrulls and you couldn't?" Cordelia realized something as she looked at Logan.

"I don't know! Their shape shifting fooled my senses!" Logan snapped.

"Didn't fool ours," Dracula said. "Then again vampires have always had more heightened senses of the living than the actual living. And werewolves have even more animal senses than you, Wolverine."

"CHEEEEEEE!"

"As for the squirrels…" Dracula sighed. "I guess it's just a fluke."

"AAAAH! GET OFF OF ME!" A Skrull screamed. "GET THIS PINK THING OFF OF ME!"

"Same goes for Penny," Logan groaned. "Okay Xi I get because of his powers to detect DNA."

"Even though the Skrulls can make almost perfect DNA replicas of anyone they still have that spot of Skrull that makes 'em change back and forth," Rocker reasoned.

"But why are they here?" Mondo asked.

"Why do you **think?"** Cordelia snapped. "Between the mutants and the vampires and all the other freaks around here this place must look like a garage sale on superpowers!"

"Makes sense that they'd want to get a foothold in the one place on Earth with a majority of mutants," Rocker agreed.

"I guess we'd better call the Avengers in on this," Scott grumbled. "Even they can't ignore what's going on here."

"For crying out loud Cyclops, one minute you don't want them anywhere **near **this town and the next you want them helping you out?" Dracula rolled his eyes. "Which is it?"

"Since when do you stick up for the Avengers?" Cordelia asked.

"Don't get me wrong, I am not exactly the Avengers' biggest fan," Dracula said. "But let's face it. They protect human interests and have enough problems of their own. And it was easier for all of us to run around and do what we had to do without them getting involved. I mean who wants a Norse God butting into their business?"

"So you had no problem with the Avengers not helping any of us during the war?" Emma raised an eyebrow. "How can you say that?"

"Let's just say that as a vampire I have slightly different **perspective **on the whole situation than all of you," Dracula smirked. "I've lived on this planet for thousands of years and met at least a hundred different sentient species. And humans are the only species I know that fights with itself over such petty things, mutated or not. Quite frankly, you are all a bunch of self-obsessed drama freaks."

"Really?" Logan growled.

"You all think that you are the greatest species that ever lived," Dracula waved. "The pinnacle of evolution, rightful rulers of the Earth…Yada, yada, yada…Boring. But most of you don't even come **close **to a vampire's lifespan, strength and durability. All this evolution stuff you are so proud of…Been there, done that."

Dracula gave them a look and then chuckled. "As far as I am concerned the Avengers and X-Men are nothing more than two groups of humans with differences of opinion that you discuss by beating each other's brains out. Granted you are some very powerful and skilled humans, but you are still humans. For the most part. And any fighting you do is good for us vampires."

"How is that good for you?" Cordelia asked. "Isn't the Mutant War the reason you guys came knocking at our doorstep in the first place?"

"Because normally any wars between humans are perfect cover for us vampires," Dracula said. "Ever hear of divide and conquer? Normally humans are so obsessed with killing each other they don't even notice when **someone else** is killing them."

"Must have been a feeding frenzy for you vamps whenever war broke out," Logan frowned. "Who's going to notice a few extra bodies?"

"Exactly," Dracula nodded. "Plus usually during wartime vampires increase our population by five percent. Like I said, no one notices a few extra people dying and not coming back. The more fighting between humans, the stronger we vampires got. And I'm betting that's the same for our Skrull friends here."

"Skrulls are conquerors that use stealth to infiltrate and conquer a planet from the inside," Scott realized. "And after the war was over…"

"It was a perfect time for them to slip in and take advantage of the cracks in the system," Dracula nodded. "It's what I would do."

"So there are Skrulls all over the world," Cordelia realized.

"Probably in strategic key areas all over the world," Dracula said. "Including the government and SHIELD."

"Then we can't bring the Avengers in!" Emma bristled.

"On the contrary, now is the **perfect **time to bring the Avengers and Fury in," Dracula grinned. "I'm still feeling rather peckish…"

Thirty minutes later the X-Men main team met up with a SHIELD transport jet in the middle of town. Rocker, Cordelia and Mondo were there as well. "I hope this works," Cordelia said.

"It will work," Emma told her sister.

"All right Wolverine I've got the team all here," Fury walked over with the entire Avengers team as well as a contingent of SHIELD agents. "What information do you have on the Skrulls?"

"Short version we know those shape shifting bastards are trying to take over the Earth," Logan said. "We came across a few of them who tried to infiltrate the X-Men and Bayville."

"And I take it they didn't succeed," Captain America said.

"No, they didn't," Ororo said.

"Not for lack of trying," Rocker said. "Fortunately we have some very special anti-Skrull detectors we've come up with."

"That could seriously help if they work," Iron Man said.

"Oh they work all right," Logan smirked. "A little demonstration." He put his fingers to his mouth and whistled.

Suddenly Penny and two werewolves leapt out of the brush. Dracula and three male vampires appeared out of nowhere. Penny and the werewolves tackled Captain America. Three of the vampires attacked two SHIELD agents and Dracula grabbed a female SHIELD agent by the neck.

"Going somewhere my dear?" Dracula grinned as she lifted the woman by the neck. "Stay for a bite!" He flashed his fangs.

"My second in command and Captain America are Skrulls?" Fury gasped.

"Wait Maria Hill is the one who told us there were Skrulls in the first place!" Wasp gasped.

"She also warned us that we couldn't trust other members of the team," Hawkeye drew his bow and pointed it at Maria. "In fact I believe she was the one who tried to make me the scapegoat a few hours ago!"

"What's that?" Emma asked. "Are the Avengers having Trust Issues?"

"Get them off me!" Captain America threw off the werewolves but Penny was holding on with her claws and teeth. "OWWW! SOMEONE HELP ME!"

"No one help them!" Fury ordered.

"What? Fury we can't just let them trash our team mates!" Ms. Marvel gasped.

"They're not the real Captain America and Maria Hill," Fury said. "In answer to your question a few hours ago we were having a…discussion about the possibility there was a Skrull impersonating one of the Avengers."

"I think it is time you showed your true colors my dear," Dracula said to the struggling Maria Hill. "Oh stop struggling. I am a twenty five thousand year old vampire. You are not going to escape."

Maria Hill kicked Dracula in the face. But he still stood strong. "OW! Seriously, just said I was a twenty five thousand year old vampire," He frowned. "Obviously I am very strong. Stronger than most aliens! DUH!"

"I think she needs convincing," Rocker smirked.

"I believe she does," Dracula nodded. "Gentlemen, you may have your dinner now."

To the Avengers' horror the vampires tore into the captured SHIELD agents. One ripped out the spine of one of the captives. As they died they reverted back to Skrulls. "I believe I have made my point," Dracula gave the woman a look. "If you and your companion wish to die before allowing yourselves to be discovered by all means…I could use a snack…"

"Super Skrull! Stand down! Stand down!" The woman shifted into a female Skrull with long black hair.

"She's a Skrull all right," Hawkeye smirked. "Tried to make people think I was one too!"

"Not just any Skrull," Jean glared at the female Skrull. "Just got a glimpse into this one's mind. She's the Skrull Queen herself!"

"Impossible! We have blockers to prevent any telepath from reading our thoughts!" The Skrull Queen screamed.

"I'm not just **any **telepath," Jean glared at her. "I'm the Phoenix, bitch!"

"Did Jean just use the B-Word?" Kitty blinked. "Okay, it's official. Things have just gotten totally weird."

"Blame the hormones," Jean shrugged.

"You too pal!" Logan pointed his claws at the fake Captain America. "Or else your queen becomes a royal feast for our resident royal pain."

"I resemble that remark," Dracula raised an eyebrow.

"DO IT!" The Skrull Queen screamed in terror. "Commander! I order you to reveal yourself!"

The Skrull shifted himself into his natural form but still wore the Captain America suit. "See was that so hard?" Dracula smirked as he put the Skrull Queen down but forced her to her knees.

"Captain America…A Skrull…" Iron Man growled.

"It was the perfect cover," Rogue shrugged. "Who better than Mister All Amercian Spandex?"

"Watch it Skunk Head," Ms. Marvel glared at Rogue.

"Make me!" Rogue glared at Ms. Marvel.

"Cyclops control your team mate," Hawkeye snapped.

"Hey, your team mate started it!" Kitty began.

"Enough! This is worse than I thought," Fury grumbled. "I knew the Skrulls had possibly infiltrated the Avengers and SHIELD but…"

"You knew? You **knew **and didn't tell anyone?" Rogue snapped.

"A little heads up would have been nice," Emma said. "We almost got kidnapped by the Skrulls."

"How could he have done that?" Wasp asked. "If he did he would have alerted the Skrulls?"

"Hello, we got a couple of telepaths here!" Bobby pointed to Emma and Jean. "Just think hard enough and they would have gotten the message."

"Oh yes just think happy thoughts and the **mutants** would come to our rescue," Ms. Marvel snorted.

"Not like we haven't done it **before**," Rogue gave her a look.

"Here we go again," Dracula rolled his eyes. "Ladies you're all pretty. Can we please put our petty differences aside for a few minutes and focus on the **alien invasion**?"

"I agree," Iron Man said. "At least now we all know who's real and who's not."

"So how do we stop the Skrull invasion when they're all over the Earth by now?" Hawkeye asked.

"Actually not that hard if you think about it. Especially since we have the Skrull Queen. Jean could you…?" Scott began as he handed Jean the portable Cerebro helmet.

"Yeah I've got this," Jean sighed as she put it on.

"What's she going to do?" Fury asked.

"Just watch," Scott grinned.

She closed her eyes and transformed her outfit to her White Phoenix uniform. Her eyes glowed golden and she became enraptured in a firey Phoenix glow as she took to the skies.

_**"ALL RIGHT SKRULLS LISTEN UP!"**_ Jean boomed using both her voice and telepathy. _**"THIS IS THE PHOENIX! GUARIDAN OF THE EARTH! I AM GIVING YOU TO THE COUNT OF THREE TO REVEAL YOURSELVES AND GET OFF THIS PLANET! IF YOU DON'T I WILL TRAVEL TO YOUR HOME WORLD AND REDUCE YOUR PLANET AND YOUR PITIFUL RACE TO ASHES! ONE…" **_

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" Skrulls everywhere all over the world transformed into their normal green selves and headed for the hills.

"Wait…She can still **do** that?" Hawkeye blinked.

"Yup," Logan nodded. "She's just using Cerebro to make sure she doesn't fry anyone else's brains but the Skrulls."

"No! No! Stop! We will leave! We will leave!" The Skrull Queen screamed in terror and agony.

"You swear to **never **invade this planet again?" Dracula snarled. "On your honor as one of royal blood?"

"I swear as long as I live my people will not attack the Earth again," The Skrull Queen promised. "By the sacred throne of Skrull I swear."

"That was pretty quick," Hawkeye blinked.

_** "AND AS FOR YOU**_!" Jean snarled at the Skrull Queen. _**"If you don't leave this planet and never return I will personally hunt you down myself and do to you what I did to the Shiar Empress! Actually I will hurt you **__**worse**__** than her! Do you understand?" **_

"Y-yes…I understand," The Skrull Queen gulped.

"Yeah we're out of here!" The Captain America Skrull nodded. "Just let us get our stuff…"

Jean made her Phoenix Raptor roar. "Or we could just have it mailed…" The Captain America Skrull gulped.

"The real Captain America! Where is he?" Logan snarled. "And you'd better tell us or else its barbecue Skrull on the menu."

"I could go for that," Dracula spoke up.

"He is in stasis on my personal ship," The Skrull Queen said calmly. Even though everyone swore they could hear her knees knocking.

"How long have you had him?" Logan snarled.

"Only for a short while…" The Captain America Skrull gulped. "We took him three days after M-Day."

"That's before the incident at the UN building," Scott realized. "And that's why you've been pushing for more of a police presence and having the Avengers watch over us in Bayville isn't it?"

"Duh," Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I said it before; we mutants are too tempting a target for any nut job dictator to pass us up!"

"Bring him and everyone else you captured here…" Jean snarled at the Skrull Queen. "_**NOW!"**_

The Skrull Queen nodded and touched her personal communicator. She spoke a few words in her language before there appeared several stasis pods. "There, all the people we have captured. The ones that are still alive anyway…"

"Still alive?" Wasp gasped. "You didn't…"

"Only lower level individuals of your criminal underworld," The Skrull Captain America scoffed. "No one would miss them anyway."

"He's right. Some of these people are criminals," Hawkeye noticed as he looked in the stasis pods. "That guy over there is one of AIM's top scientists. And those two work for Hydra. And that guy is the head of a criminal cartel in Mexico!"

"Well that's a freebee," Fury remarked.

"Is that Susan Storm?" Kitty pointed.

"We got her two days ago," The Skrull Captain America said. "She's unharmed."

"Maria Hill is here as well as Mockingbird," Ms. Marvel looked at the pods.

"Who?" Kitty asked.

"One of our other operatives," Hawkeye said. "And I see a couple of governors and senators too."

"We kept all the heroes and anyone high ranking in all Earth governments, military and society alive in case we needed to use hostages or more information," The Skrull Queen said.

"You took his uniform?" Logan realized when he saw Captain America in the stasis pod in his underwear.

"What? Shape shifters can't like nice outfits?" The Skrull Captain America asked.

"Take it off!" Logan snarled as he popped out his claws again.

"Now wait a minute…" The Skrull Captain America began. A growl from Dracula and a glare from the Phoenix stopped him. "It was too big anyway!" He quickly took it off and stood there in black underwear.

"Thank you," Fury took the uniform from him.

"Is that **everyone**?" Jean snarled.

"Yes, it is," The Skrull Queen nodded. "I swear that is all of the captives we have taken from your world."

"Good and as for the two of you…" Jean's eyes glowed. "Take your people and never come back or **else…**"

Both The Skrull Queen and the Captain America Skrull stiffened at the mental images Jeans showed them. While the Skrull Queen had fear in her eyes, the other Skrull reacted differently.

"What the…?" Logan's nose winced as a familiar smell hit his sensitive nose.

"Did that Skrull just…?" Iron Man's jaw dropped.

"Wet himself and crapped his pants. Yeah," Logan chuckled. "Big time!"

"Command Ship! This is your queen! Transport us now and get us out of this system!" The Skrull Queen yelled on her communicator. Before anyone could say anything they teleported away.

"I don't think the Skrulls are going to bother us for a long time," Scott smirked.

"Shame. I could have gone for some Skrull for dinner," Dracula smirked.

"Are you all right?" Wasp asked Captain America as the Avengers opened the stasis pods.

"Uh what happened to us?" Captain America looked around. "And Fury why do you have my uniform?"

"It's…kind of a long story," Fury let out a breath.

"Short version. The vampires, werewolves and the mutants just saved the Earth from a Skrull invasion," Dracula smirked.

"You're welcome," Jean said sarcastically as she walked off with the X-Men and other citizens of Bayville.

"That was rather anti-climactic," Iron Man blinked.

"If anybody asks we all had a huge battle in a Skrull spaceship and drove them off," Fury said. "Assisted of course by the X-Men."

"Why would we lie about…?" Ms. Marvel began.

"AAHH! AAAAH! HELP ME! HELP ME!" A Skrull floundered around. It was being viciously attacked by several mutant squirrels. "THEY'RE TRYING TO EAT ME! OWWWW! THIS IS VERY PAINFUL!"

"Oh…Right," Ms. Marvel blinked.

"I see your point," Iron Man blinked. "Can't get any more humiliating than that."


	19. Can't Keep A Bad Guy Down

**Can't Keep A Bad Guy Down**

"Wow. We're working with the Avengers," Stanley looked around the office. The thin brown haired man in a brown business suit was impressed. "I can't believe we are actually going to be working with the Avengers!"

"Technically **I** am working with the Avengers," Henry Gyrich frowned. "You are working for **me!"**

"Yeah but you gotta admit after everything that happened with the whole Mutant Uprising and Sentinel debacle we're pretty lucky," Stanley told his brother in law.

"Luck had **nothing** to do with it," Gyrich frowned as he sat at his desk. "I still have friends in the government."

"And lucky for you they owed you money and you accepted this instead of payment," Stanley said.

"Yes this will work quite nicely," Gyrich smirked.

"As long as we don't make the same mistakes as last time," Stanley folded his arms.

"Look we may not be able to do anything about the mutants right now, but at the very least we can keep an eye on the Avengers," Gyrich told Stanley. "Once our power is consolidated over the Avengers, we can use them to take out the X-Men. Let the super powered fight the super freaks. Should have done this from the start!"

"I gave you that idea weeks before the whole Sentinel thing!" Stanley fumed. "Didn't I say it? Didn't I say it? Trask was an idiot I said! You can't trust machines I said! They malfunction all the time I said!"

"Fine Stanley, you were right," Gyrich grumbled. "But this time things are going to be different!"

"I hope so, because if you screw up again our only shot at a decent living is making candles in South America," Stanley said.

"That's not going to happen! Mark my words Stanley," Gyrich snarled. "One of these days those **freaks** are going to make a mistake. And when they do…I'll be waiting!"

* * *

><p>Genosha. The new Mutant Homeland.<p>

"It's coming together nicely," Magneto looked at the construction of the new government building from the window of a tall metal building. "Soon Genosha will be fully operational. Progress report."

Standing behind him were Magneto's new Elite Acolytes. Dark Beast the genetic copy of Hank McCoy only hairier spoke first. He was wearing a black and red Acolyte uniform under a white lab coat. "The dam has just been finished. All water, solar and wind power plants will be fully operational within twenty four hours. And our mining team has discovered some rather interesting gems that might be useful for future use."

"Excellent. How goes the security forces?" Magneto looked to his new head of Security.

"We've already established three classes of citizens of Genosha," Solitaire spoke calmly. The genderless green scaled mutant with long dark hair in a ponytail spoke. He wore a black and red Acolyte uniform with a large sword at his back. "Soldiers, Healers and Laborers. We are sadly lacking in the latter two categories."

"Don't forget the scientists and researchers," Dark Beast gave the former Cobra Assassin a look.

"Technically that goes under the labor force," Solitaire spoke. "However our security forces are becoming adequate but not what I would like. They need to be better trained and once we have actually finished building homes and buildings I would like to increase the training regimen."

"I understand but right now it is more important that our people have homes to live in and a roof over their heads," Magneto nodded. "Besides I reviewed our security forces myself yesterday and everything seemed fine."

"It would be too easy for a small group of highly trained soldiers to invade and cause instability," Solitaire growled. "We lost too many soldiers and mutants on M-Day. We don't need to lose anymore."

"Hmph! Those cowardly humans won't even come **near** our shores," Lady Mastermind, the blonde telepathic daughter of Mastermind snorted as she examined her red nails.

"No, but I can sense the metal in their ships and SHIELD's aircraft a mile away," Magneto nodded.

"They can circle and try to spy on us all they want," Regan, Lady Mastermind's sister who was also blonde spoke up. "Our technicians are sending out fake signals and radio broadcasts while keeping our real progress under wraps."

"Why send out fake signals?" Dark Beast asked. "Why not completely jam them?"

"Because that would make the humans try harder to spy on us," Solitaire spoke. "At least with the fake broadcasts we can lure them into false sense of complacency."

"Let them think we're weaker than we really are," Lady Mastermind snorted. "If those fools ever do try to invade us they are in for a rude awakening."

"Except for the extremely young and severely injured nearly ninety percent of our citizens are working on building a new and better Genosha," Regan said. "Morale is high and there is contentment within our citizens of your leadership."

"Despite the humans' blockade and attempts to starve us," Solitaire growled. "Fortunately for us what we lack in healers we made up for in teleporters."

"That reminds me, how are we on supplies?" Magneto looked at Amelia Voight, who had also been chosen as one of the elite.

"We just had another successful run a few hours ago. We are well stocked with medical supplies as well as enough food and raw materials for a few more weeks," Amelia spoke. "And thanks to your work the other day the hospital is shaping up rather nicely."

"If I am going to lead my people into a new era I have to set an example," Magneto nodded. He himself had used his powers to help build several new buildings, including the one they were currently standing in. "No one is above a little honest work. Not even me."

"I just wish we had more doctors and healers to help with the wounded," Amelia sighed. "But since our last surviving healer decided to stay in Bayville…"

"Who needs a traitor like that?" Lady Mastermind snapped. "We have enough doctors to do the job!"

"Now Lady Mastermind," Magneto sighed. "Don't begrudge Charles and the citizens of Bayville. They are our sister city after all. They need just as much help rebuilding as we do."

"So much help they recruited humans, vampires, were wolves, Snake People and other lesser creatures," Lady Mastermind wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Technically they only recruited the Snake People and humans," Solitaire corrected her. "The others were forced upon them by SHIELD."

"Still…" Lady Mastermind grunted.

"So what do we care what happens over in Bayville? The mutants there made their choice. Not our problem," Regan snorted. "We have enough problems as it is. Why worry about other people?"

"Has there been any success in recruiting new mutants for Genosha?" Magneto asked.

"Not for lack of trying," Regan sighed.

"Or lack of equipment," Lady Mastermind said. "We finished modifying the new Cerebra unit but…"

"Even though it is not as powerful as Cerebro, Cerebra works perfectly," Regan said. "It's just there aren't any new mutants to be found. And if my calculations are correct there won't be for a long time because of the war."

"Then it's a very good thing that not all the cloning equipment was on Avalon," Dark Beast smirked. "The retrieval team has just brought back the final components from your base in the Sahara desert."

"How soon can you begin the first batch of hybrid clones?" Magneto asked.

"As soon as the building is finished and the power comes on," Dark Beast told him. "I've already made several interesting combinations and genetic plans on paper. And we have plenty of samples in storage."

"Not to mention any samples you need I can provide for you."

"With a price, I suppose?" Magneto looked at Azazel who sauntered in wearing a black fur covered garment.

"Discounted price. Very cheap for an ally," Azazel smirked. The red furred, black haired red tailed mutant with a goatee casually leaned against the wall.

"What are you doing here?" Amelia glared at the intruder. "This meeting is for Elite Acolytes only!"

"Calm down, my dear Amelia. I am here by invitation," Azazel waved. "By the way Magneto I thought I'd let you know that I just dropped off some more lovely rare metal for you to enjoy as well as few more gifts for the citizens of Genosha."

"Azazel is an ally and a welcome guest of Genosha," Magneto said.

"And a big investor," Azazel said. "I want mutants to succeed and grow into a force to take over the Earth too."

"With you on the throne?" Solitaire gave him a look.

"I have enough problems with my own brood thank you very much," Azazel sighed. "Besides I'm more interested in having a little me time. Travelling. Seeing the sights. Going on vacation. That sort of thing. Being trapped for years in a dimension of fire and brimstone can be so monotonous."

"I'll bet," Regan grumbled.

"Which brings me to my little request," Azazel spoke again.

"I knew it…" Amelia growled.

"I just want permission for some of my…less violent and more trusted minions to visit Genosha with me from time to time," Azazel said.

"I knew it! You want to spy on us!" Amelia snarled.

"If I wanted to spy on you why would I be asking you for permission to do it?" Azazel rolled his eyes. "Give me some credit. You do know I have telepaths of my own right? If I really wanted to spy on you I would use them. But I don't so there."

"I understand you have reservations about Azazel but he has proven himself to be an ally of Genosha," Magneto told his Acolytes. "As long as your subjects are willing to obey the rules I don't see any problem. Genosha is open to all kinds of mutants. With a few exceptions."

"I take it my charming ex-girlfriend and her former paramour as well as the unruly pups are **not **welcome on your island paradise?" Azazel asked.

"No, they are not," Magneto growled.

"Can't blame you," Azazel shrugged. "Even I wouldn't trust them as far as I can throw them. And I heard what Wolverine Junior did on M-Day. And people think I'm a back stabber."

"It was bad enough that Mystique joined willingly with Apocalypse again and Sabertooth was always a traitor but what Daken did…" Regan shuddered.

"I know. I was **there**," Magneto's face darkened. "Magma gave her strength defending us from the Sentinels and Daken rewarded her sacrifice with death. I never thought I would say this but out of all of them Wolverine is the patient intelligent one of that lot."

"Last I heard Sabertooth and the pups were in Hong Kong. Probably mucking around some secret hideout of Factor One's," Azazel shrugged. "As for Mystique the gods only know where that bitch has disappeared to."

"Hopefully we won't hear from her for a long time," Magneto sighed. "And even as I say it I know she's out there planning something."

"Please! She may be able to fool both Cerebro and Cerebra but she's just one shape shifter! Alone and without allies!" Regan snorted. "How much damage can she do?"

* * *

><p>Washington DC…<p>

"I really appreciate your help Senator Banyon with my…new career," Henry Gyrich called one of his allies on a video phone.

"Well it's always been a pleasure to help out some of my…generous donators," Senator Banyon a thirty something good looking man with slightly graying black hair grinned. He was sitting at a large desk. "Such a shame you ended your last position so suddenly."

"You know I used to wonder why you didn't want to join any of my committees or publicly back the MRD but now I get it," Gyrich frowned. "You just wanted to wait until the dust cleared didn't you?"

"Keeping yourself out of the line of fire in case of some political fallout," Stanley was seen in the background.

"Shut up Stanley," Gyrich snapped. "It's lucky for us the senator did that! It made it easier for him to stay in power and help us get into the Avengers."

"Yes, it was. Wasn't it?" Banyon smiled. A grey cat leapt up on the desk. "Oh…Nice kitty."

"Is that **blood **on its paws?" Stanley blinked.

"Oh. So it is. Bad kitty." Banyon placed the feline on the floor out of sight. "Been chasing mice and birds again. Quite a skilled hunter."

"Could have used it during the Mutant Uprising," Gyrich snorted. "Seeing is half the MRD were either criminals or incompetent!"

"It is so hard to get good help these days," Banyon sighed.

"I know I can trust you Banyon," Gyrich smirked. "This time no mutant is going to pull the wool over my eyes!"

"Oh no, Gyrich," Banyon smirked. "I can **guarantee** that. We'll talk later after you've adjusted to your new position. Banyon out."

Banyon turned off the video phone on his computer and made a chuckle. "Well…Isn't **that** something?"

He looked at the prone figure on the floor. It was Banyon himself lying dead. 'Banyon' removed his mask and revealed himself to be none other than Zartan.

The cat made a meowing sound at this revelation. "So you're the one who helped Gyrich weasel out of trouble huh? Now I'm sorry I killed you. I should have tortured you first then killed you for that!"

"I guess it was a stroke of good luck that I decided to check up on some of Firefly's old connections," Zartan smirked at the dead senator. "Originally I was going to just take your money. But I think your life is much more valuable. In more ways than one."

"Politics hmmm…" Zartan smirked as he stood up. He looked in a nearby mirror. "Now **this** is an interesting development. Yes, this could work very well to my advantage. The possibilities are intriguing…"

"I couldn't agree more."

"Now what?" Zartan turned around and saw that the cat had transformed into Mystique. "You have got to be **kidding **me?"

"And hello to you too Zartan," Mystique mocked.

"Reason I hate cats number thirty two. How the hell did you find me you crazy bitch?" Zartan shouted.

"I wasn't looking for you. I was looking for Banyon," Mystique grumbled. "Let's just say he was on my list of people to take care of and leave it at that."

"Of course he was," Zartan sighed. "And I end up doing your dirty work for you! You're welcome!"

"So you are alive? Why does this not surprise me?" Mystique sauntered to the other side of the desk.

"It doesn't surprise me that you're still running around," Zartan folded his arms.

"Oh don't be like that Zartan," Mystique purred seductively. "It's not like I don't approve of your work. Banyon was a Kelly wannabe only he had the brains not to let anyone know about it yet. You did mutant kind a favor."

"And now you want me to do **you** one," Zartan concluded.

"Fate brought us together again. This is an opportunity we can't ignore. Together we can do some real damage to bastards like Gyrich and help our cause," Mystique said.

"The only cause **I **have is getting rich and living long enough to enjoy it," Zartan said.

"Maybe, but wouldn't it be nice to do the **one thing** Cobra failed to do?" Mystique asked.

"And that would be?" Zartan asked. "You're going to have to narrow it down. It's quite a long list."

"Take over the world, secure the future of the mutant race and get revenge on GI Joe," Mystique said. "Not to mention the X-Men and Misfits. And everyone else who screwed with us!"

"Technically that's five things."

"Still Cobra failed but together we can succeed."

"Uh huh," Zartan nodded. "You are very willing to enter into a partnership with me. What happened this time? And don't say it's nothing because we both know it's **something.** Why are you so desperate to pair up with me again? Just say it!"

"I'm pregnant," Mystique admitted.

"And who's the unlucky bastard **this time**?" Zartan gave her a look.

"You don't want to know."

"Yes I do! If you expect me to go along with this insane scheme you'd better spill it!" Zartan snapped.

"Apocalypse," Mystique said.

"No, seriously. Who is it?" Zartan asked. One look told him all. "WHAT? WHY DID YOU TELL ME THAT? I DIDN'T WANT TO KNOW THAT!"

"It's complicated."

"Complicated? How complicated could it be? Do you **not** know how to use birth control?" Zartan asked. "Seriously? Have you never read a pamphlet? Been to Health Class? Even watch one of those god awful afterschool specials?"

"You don't understand…" Mystique began.

"I understand perfectly! You want power as well as a baby daddy to take the fall!" Zartan snapped. "Not this time sister!"

"Zartan…" Mystique began.

"Woman I barely had time to raise my own kid! What makes you think I'm going to make time to raise **someone else's**?" Zartan snapped. "You already cost me one son…"

"Don't go there!" Mystique snapped. "We both know that was your **own fault**! I had nothing to do with those insane red ninjas!"

"No, but you did have a lot to do with my life getting more complicated than it should have been!" Zartan snapped. "And knowing you…Things are going to get even more complicated!"

"It's not going to be that hard," Mystique said. "Banyon knew a lot of wealthy society women. I'll just kill one of them and take her place. I know. Maryanne Westley-Smythe."

"Who the hell is Maryanne Westley-Smythe?"

"Society woman, widowed. Good friends with Banyon for years," Mystique said.

"How do you know this?" Zartan asked incredulously. "People magazine?"

"Among other publications," Mystique said. "Mostly society columns."

"You read society columns?"

"I am a shape shifter. It's important for me to know who the movers and shakers are in a particular area so I know who to impersonate," Mystique explained. "It helps me get into character. You of all people should understand **that!"**

"Exactly what role will you be filling in as Maryanne Whatever the Hell Her Name Is?" Zartan asked. "Campaign Manager? Therapist? Secret Manager of an underground dog fighting ring?"

"As your wife of course," Mystique said.

"Are you sure you don't want to do the dog fighting thing?" Zartan asked. "You would be good at it. I mean you've been around animals like the Dreadnoks. Non speaking creatures should be a breeze."

"As husband and wife we will make the perfect team to take down the government from the inside!" Mystique said. "It'll work. It's perfect."

"Perfectly **insane!**" Zartan snapped. "I suppose if I don't go along with this you're just run right to the Joes and tell them I'm alive?"

"Of course not," Mystique said simply. "However if I am ever captured by the X-Men I might let it slip to them and the Misfits that you are still alive. And they'll probably tell the Joes. Who will certainly tell Snake Eyes and Stormshadow…"

"And who will have the rest of that damned Arashikage after my blood again!" Zartan threw up his hands.

"This is not a bad thing. Being a Senator is only the first step. As Banyon you're already that. You said so yourself the possibilities…" Mystique grinned.

"This is insane," Zartan grumbled. "But if I am going to pull this off I am going to need a wife to help me out. A pretend wife!"

"Technically I think I still am your wife," Mystique said. "And the perfect person to help you get back at GI Joe and Stormshadow."

"I admit I wouldn't mind getting a little revenge on the X-Men and the Misfits myself," Zartan shrugged. "No! What am I saying? This is **not **going to work!"

"Why not? We'll have quick whirlwind public courtship," Mystique told him. "Banyon and Maryanne were friends for years. It's believable and a white wedding will be good publicity. The public loves crap like that. We'll pass ourselves off as the perfect all American family. Respectable!"

"Perfect American Family huh?" Zartan asked. "My god you're already picking out the White House china aren't you? Well Miss Future First Pain In the Ass there's just one tiny little problem with your plan. There is a very good chance that your bouncing baby poster child will be born BLUE! HOW THE HELL ARE YOU GONNA PULL **THAT **OFF?"

"I've figured that out too," Mystique said. "You have those nanites inside you. Remember, those machines that now make it possible for you to go out into the sun without turning blue?"

"So you think just giving the kid a shot will solve everything?" Zartan was stunned.

"I know people. People who can be trusted…" Mystique began.

"HA!" Zartan laughed.

"They can be our staff and help us," Mystique said. "And you can bring in your family in too when the time is right! We can do this!"

"God this is going to be a disaster…" Zartan groaned.

"A disaster for our enemies," Mystique told him. "Like Magneto. Don't forget he still hasn't completely forgiven you for your alliance with Cobra all those years ago."

"Yes, but I'm guessing he hates you even more," Zartan said.

"He's not the only one who can run a country," Mystique told him.

"Oh now you want to be Hillary? And I thought Cobra Commander had an ego!" Zartan fumed. "However this opportunity is too good to let go. And I will need a partner. And since I can't get anyone I can trust I suppose you will have to do!"

"So we have a deal?" Mystique asked.

"Deal," Zartan said. "Now help me get rid of the body."

"Of course," Mystique went to help him.

"One more thing. I do have one condition," Zartan glared at Mystique. "Separate bedrooms!"

"Agreed," Mystique nodded.

* * *

><p>SHEILD Headquarters.<p>

"You wanted to see us sir?" One of three SHIELD agents spoke up. It was Captain Dan Cadbury, a tall imposing man with light skin and brown hair in a regulation haircut. The other two were Captain John Claymore, an African American man with short black hair and Captain Tom Gendry, a slightly balding red haired man with a thin build.

"You three are to do a prisoner escort mission," Fury told them. At his side was Maria Hill.

"I wasn't aware we had any prisoners left at Headquarters," Claymore frowned.

"We didn't," Hill told him. "We're just the way station for these two. The head of security from the UN wanted to question them for a bit before they were handed back to the Army."

Escorted in shackles and orange jumpsuits were the former Crimson Guard leaders. Both Xamot and Tomax looked like they hadn't shaved in weeks and their hair was longer. "The mighty Crimson Guard Leaders," Fury scoffed. "Not so mighty now."

"With all due respect sir, why are we handling this and not GI Joe?" Gendry frowned.

"There's going to be a Joe escort at the drop off zone," Fury said. "Then these two will go off and spend the rest of their lives in a nice cold cell at the military prison at Ft. Leavenworth."

"Ft. Leavenworth? Sir shouldn't criminals of this stature be held at a more secure location?" Gendry asked.

"What stature? Extensive Enterprises bit the dust years ago," Cadbury snorted. "Most of the Crimson Guard disbanded shortly after that. And now that there's no more Cobra they're even less powerful. Let's face it, they're nothing more than a couple of has beens. Barely even worth our time."

"Aren't they going to be held at the Raft?" Gendry asked. "Or at the very least the Vault or the Big House?"

"Those places are for super human mutated criminals," Claymore scoffed. "Last I checked being creepy wasn't a superpower."

"What about the Cube?" Cadbury asked.

"That's only for irradiated criminals," Fury scoffed. "I agree with Cadbury. Now that Cobra's bit the dust these two are nothing more than a couple of goldfish in a big ocean of crime. SHIELD has bigger fish to fry. The army can handle them."

"Cadbury, take your task force with Gendry and Claymore and escort these gentlemen to their new home," Hill spoke up.

"Me? Why do I have to…?" Cadbury gritted his teeth.

"Have a **problem **Cadbury?" Fury gave him a look.

"Sir my task force is trained to handle mutants and other super powered criminals. Not losers like these!" Cadbury snapped.

"Oh poor Cadbury," Tomax mocked.

"How the mighty have fallen," Xamot said.

"Come on, Cadbury. This should be a piece of cake compared to mutants," Claymore told him. "I'll take over for you on this job if you want."

"I wouldn't count on it being cake as far as those two are concerned," Fury glared at the Twins. "You're going. And the rest of your squad."

"Oh good brother, we're…" Xamot began.

"Taking a trip," Tomax said cheerfully.

"Enjoy it. It'll be the last one you ever take," Fury gave them a look. "Get this garbage out of my sight."

"With pleasure," Claymore nodded. "Come on! Move it!"

"Goodbye Fury," Xamot called out as they were led away.

"Ms. Hill," Tomax said.

"It has been fun," Xamot said.

"We must…" Tomax began.

"Get together again sometime," Xamot finished.

"Ciao," The twins said at the same time as they were led out the door.

"Damn," Fury frowned. "That is creepy."

Thirty minutes later in a SHIELD transport aircraft.

"I tell ya, this stinks," Cadbury fumed as he sat in the copilot seat.

"What do you mean? These two used to be real heavy hitters back in the day," Claymore said. He indicated the Crimson Twins chained up in the back. Two SHIELD guards were next to them.

"Why are you so gung ho to escort these losers?" Gendry asked as he flew the aircraft.

"You don't get promotions by saying no," Claymore told him. "I'd better check on them." He got up to check on the twins.

"Why bother? They're not going anywhere!" Cadbury groaned.

"He does have a point you know?" Gendry said as he flew. "About not saying no to Fury."

"Just fly the plane," Cadbury grumbled.

"I'm just saying the smart thing to do is just agree," Gendry said.

"And I'm saying that transporting a couple of has beens is beneath SHIELD agents of our stature," Cadbury groaned. "They don't even have any powers for crying out loud!"

"Yeah but those guys are creepy," Gendry shuddered.

"Creepy is not a super power," Cadbury said. "Right Claymore? Claymore?"

"Cadbury! Gendry! We have a situation!" Claymore shouted. "Put the plane on autopilot and help me!"

"What? What's going on?" Cadbury got up and went back.

"This," Claymore said calmly as he shot Cadbury in the head with a silencer. The two SHIELD guards were dead at his feet.

"What the…?" Gendry didn't even get a chance to turn around before he was killed.

"That's the problem with people like you," Claymore shrugged as he put the aircraft on auto pilot. "You SHIELD agents are so concerned with the super powered criminals you never even realize the danger from the rest of us. It's rather insulting."

"Thank you Captain Claymore," Tomax smiled.

"You're certainly come up in the world when you were merely Lieutenant Claymore," Xamot grinned.

"That was before I was recruited to join the elite spy ranks of the Crimson Guard," Claymore smirked as he freed the twins from their shackles. "Thanks from a grateful Cobra Commander for saving his life."

"Such as it was," The twins said at the same time.

"I'm afraid we are all going to have to die now," Claymore explained as he moved back to the cockpit. "Such a pity. I was really moving up in the ranks of SHIELD. A few years more and who knows? I might have had Hill's job."

"Or Fury's?" Xamot made a sly grin.

"Nah, too much paperwork," Claymore smirked as he pressed a button on a panel in the wall of the plane. Three figures emerged from it. "These are the newest batch of Synthoids. They have no personality but…They will leave just enough of our DNA to convince SHIELD that we all perished."

"Such a shame to waste such handsome specimens," Tomax sighed as he guided the replicas to the back of the ship.

"So how are we going to meet our untimely demise?" Xamot asked.

"The old bird in the jet engines?" Tomax added.

"Or simple magnetic interference?" Xamot asked.

"Neither," Claymore said as he worked the controls. "We're heading for the drop point. Gentlemen I direct your attention to the emergency exit vehicle I installed myself underneath the cockpit. It will be a tight squeeze but we only have to stay in it for a few minutes. It will take us directly to the sub."

"And after we eject?" Xamot asked as he found the pod by lifting a panel in the floor.

"A bomb will go off exactly three seconds after ejection," Claymore explained. "Sirs, if you don't mind, we are on a tight schedule."

"A bomb eh? And who among our many enemies would place a bomb on a SHIELD transport vehicle?" Tomax asked as he got in.

"Ideally ninjas. But since ninjas wouldn't leave any evidence I had to improvise," Claymore said. "A few hours after our 'death' there will be a public transmission from the new Dreadnok leader claiming responsibility."

"Wouldn't that be either Zanya?" Tomax asked.

"Or the Twins?" Xamot asked as he strapped himself in.

"It's a shadowy figure with a voice disguised. The authorities will never notice the difference," Claymore strapped himself in. "There's always some other super powered maniac running around doing something."

"And why would the Dreadnoks…" Xamot began.

"Want to kill us?" Tomax finished.

"Blaming you for Zartan's death," Claymore said as the hatch closed. "Sirs, I suggest we continue our conversation after we are picked up. We need to conserve air…"

"Agreed…" The Twins nodded before they closed the hatch.

Twenty minutes and a big explosion later…

"Welcome to the Corsica Two Commanders," A Crimson Guard saluted as the Crimson Twins along with Claymore boarded. Several more Crimson Guard soldiers in their red and black uniforms were on deck.

"Ah the old secret sub we had stashed away…" Tomax took a breath as he got out.

"In case of emergencies," Xamot agreed as he left.

"Not even Cobra Commander knew about it," Tomax smirked.

"Or our very capable crew," Xamot nodded. "Thank you Claymore."

"My pleasure," Claymore nodded. He turned to two guardsmen. "Get the twins a change of clothes and bring them to their quarters. Also alert the chef. I believe these gentlemen are famished."

"Who is the chef tonight?" Tomax added.

"That would be Renaldo, Sir," Claymore nodded.

"Excellent. I believe we shall have some bacon wrapped filet mingon with some lobster tails," Tomax spoke up.

"With a side of field greens and mushroom risotto," Xamot added. "With a nice merlot to wash it down with."

"And don't forget his famous crepe cake with cherries flambé sauce for dessert," The twins said as one.

"You heard the Commanders," Claymore told a nearby soldier. "Inform Renaldo immediately." The soldier went to do so.

"So quick to take orders," Xamot said.

"It must have been rather dull around here in our absence," Tomax mused.

"Oh I don't know Sirs," Claymore said. "We've been rather busy during your…enforced vacation. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by all the businesses we have acquired, using a new company name of course."

"And what is our new name now?" Tomax asked.

"Doubleday Industries," Claymore said.

"Not bad," Tomax said.

"Still I will miss Extensive Enterprises," Xamot sighed. "It was our first multi-million dollar company after all."

"Times have changed brother and so must we," Tomax said. "Which reminds me…"

"After we have freshened up we'd like to see our personal stylist for a makeover," Xamot added as he fingered his stubble.

"I've always wanted to be a blonde," Tomax looked at his reflection in the mirror.

"They do have more fun," Xamot smirked. "And so will we."


	20. X Vs A Part I: Whole Lot of Bickering

**X vs A Part I: A Whole Lot of Bickering Going On**

"Okay we've **finally **narrowed down the date for Jean's wedding!" Pietro zoomed into the new war room at the new Misfit Manor in Bayville. He was carrying several wedding books. "Now Jean I need you to come with me later for a final fitting. It took me seventeen minutes but I finally got all those lovely crystals sewn in and I want to make sure everything is just perfect! And we need to decide what kind of veil you want! Oh and a** tiara**! Every bride **needs **a tiara!"

"Quicksilver this meeting is about rebuilding Bayville," Logan snapped. Most of the X-Men were there along with the Misfits in the war room. "Not about Jean's wedding!"

"It's my wedding too, remember?" Scott gave them a look.

"This wedding is important to the rebuilding of Bayville!" Pietro bristled. "It's about hope and dreams and beautiful sparkling fairy tale endings wrapped up in a pretty bow and served with cake! Oh that reminds me have we chosen the cake yet?"

"Oh yes," Fred nodded. "My granny is going to make it and Kitty picked out the perfect flavors. Checkerboard with vanilla buttercream frosting!"

"You let Kitty pick out the cake?" Scott looked at Jean.

"As long as she doesn't bake it, I have no problem," Jean admitted. "Besides Pietro is right. Our wedding is important. Like it or not, the X-Men are symbols. And Bayville could use all the positive publicity we can get."

"Okay the cake is done but still way too far behind for our timetable which is next Thursday," Pietro said as he went through his books.

"That fast?" Scott asked.

"Uh yes," Jean gave him a look. "Considering…" She put a hand on her stomach.

"Oh right," Scott nodded.

"Gives a whole new meaning to the words 'shotgun wedding' huh Summers?" Todd snickered.

"I'll take a shotgun wedding over a Phoenix blast wedding any day," Bobby agreed.

"Now what do you want to throw at your wedding? Rice? Birdseed?" Pietro asked. "No better not make it birdseed."

"Especially with the kinds of birds we have around here," Lance said. "It would make Hitchcock's The Birds look like a merry romp in the park."

"Oh my god I just remembered what color do you want the carpet on the bridal aisle to be? Bright red might be too much a reminder of the past. How about fuchsia?" Pietro asked. "A nice dark pink would be **perfect!**"

"It's official," Logan put his head on the table. "I'm in Hell."

"No, you're just in Misfit Manor in Bayville," Bobby quipped. "Same zip code though."

"I don't know about all this," Scott groaned. "This is all getting too much for me."

"Scott all you have to do is stand there, look handsome and say I do," Rogue told him. "Weddings are always about the bride. The groom is just an afterthought."

"I've already planned my wedding," Kitty nodded. "Right down to the emergency cake choices. All I have to do is pick out a groom and make some calls."

"Emergency cake choices?" Peter asked Kitty.

"Run, Colossus," Lance drawled. "Run for your life."

"Oh good news, Willow has chosen the perfect flowers for your bridal bouquet," Pietro said to Jean. "She's growing the shrubs and plants around the gazebo we're building now!"

"Oh good. I wanted to see if she could make them have little pink roses on the shrubs," Jean said. Everyone looked at her. "What? I like pink roses."

"Since when are you friends with Willow?" Scott was surprised.

"Since we both lost our families in a massacre," Jean said. "We just can't afford to hold on to old grudges and petty bickering among mutants anymore."

"Speaking of grudges," Wanda had turned on the TV. "Look who's on the news."

"The TV works?" Scott was surprised.

"First thing we hooked up," Pyro said.

"What's on TV?" Kitty said. "It looks like a parade."

"It is a parade!" Todd realized. "And look who it's for!"

"The Avengers," Todd groaned as the shots of Captain America, Iron Man and the others on a float were shown. "Whoop. De. Doo."

"This stinks!" Kitty snapped. "We've saved the world just as many times as the Avengers! Maybe even more! But do we get a parade?"

"We barely get pardoned with our lives," Rogue grumbled.

"They're being praised for all the work they did on M-Day and alien invasions and yada, yada, yada…" Pietro snorted. "I'm with Kitty! Where's our parade? I want a parade!"

"You always want a parade," Lance rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but this time I have a good reason," Pietro told him.

"That's what you said the say you discovered that you grew half an inch taller and it turned out you had platform heels in your boots," Todd told him.

"I hate to say it but for once Quicksilver has a point," Rogue said.

"About the boots?" Fred asked.

"Not about the boots you idiot! About having the public recognize us as heroes!" Rogue snapped. "And I'm sick and tired of the Avengers getting all the glory!"

"This isn't a competition," Hank said calmly.

"Wanna bet?" Rogue grunted.

"What the hell are those?" Althea asked as she pointed to the screen.

"They're cheerleaders dancing around in little skimpy Iron Man like costumes," Pyro said.

"Gotta admit the man has style," Bobby said. Every female in the room glared at him. "What? What did I say?"

"Oh goody, now we get to hear a speech from that windbag Stark!" Rogue grunted.

Iron Man in his metal suit was standing at a podium. "Today we celebrate a future filled with hope. The Skrull invasion is over. We beat back the enemy with our forces and might. And assistance from the X-Men."

"Assistance from the…? Did he just make us sound like a bunch of **sidekicks**?" Kitty shouted.

"The correct term is hero support," Fred told her. "But yeah, he did."

"That is just disrespectful yo," Todd folded his arms in a huff and slouched in his seat.

"A lot has happened this past year," Iron Man said. "But the Avengers have fought and won against all forces for a brighter future. From the intergalactic threats to the Sentinels on M-Day the Avengers will be there to protect the world when it needs it the most."

"**They **will protect **us?**" Rogue spoke up. "Since **when?"**

"Uh, **hello?"** Todd shouted at the TV. "What about Phoenix, Aqua Seraphim and Tetsukaeru here?"

"Even as Dark Phoenix I didn't cause half as much damage as the Sentinels did," Jean grumbled.

"And the three of you ended up destroying the Sentinels. So…" Pyro added.

"Next Thursday will be the official Avengers Day," Iron Man said proudly. "Celebrating the accomplishments the Avengers and all their members have…"

"That's on Jean's wedding day! How dare they do this on Jean's wedding day!" Kitty shrieked with rage.

"Uh it's my wedding day **too**," Scott said. "And to be fair you didn't decide until two minutes ago."

"Four minutes ago! But that's beside the point!" Pietro snapped.

"So we'll move it up one day! Happy?" Scott snapped.

"No! Now we're going to have to move double time if we are going to pull this off!" Pietro huffed.

"They obviously didn't know," Logan said.

"I say we tell them by toilet papering the Avenger's lawn!" Todd spoke up. "That'll send a message!"

"Toad! We need to send a peaceful message!" Jean said.

"That's why I suggested toilet paper and not dynamite," Todd gave her a look.

"He's got you there Jean," Althea told her.

"Why should we have to postpone our date? Let them postpone **theirs!**" Pietro said.

"What difference does it make what flaming day we do it?" Logan asked.

"You really want to spend **more time** with Quicksilver planning this thing?" Lance asked. "Because a day earlier or later you know…"

"Crap. You're right. We gotta tell 'em to change it," Logan realized.

"What do you expect us to do? Go over there and demand they change their date?" Scott asked.

"Yes! And while we're at it toilet paper their lawn!" Todd called out.

"We are not doing anything…" Scott began.

"Shh, I want to hear this…" Emma pointed to the television.

A reporter was asking a question. "How do you feel about other Superhero teams like the Fantastic Four and the X-Men?"

"We have no problems with them," Iron Man said smoothly. "We have a great relationship and are happy with their assistance when we need their help."

"Or they need ours as in the case of the X-Men," Ms. Marvel scoffed. A microphone caught what she said to Hawkeye.

"What did she say?" Rogue raised an eyebrow.

"Come on Ms. Marvel, the X-Men do some good," Iron Man smoothed. "In their own way. I'm mean they're not Avengers so…"

"How much toilet paper do we have?" Scott asked as he turned off the TV.

Two hours later….

"Just so Gambit clear about all this," Remy spoke up as the X-Men landed the Blackbird on the SHIELD Helicarrier launch pad. "We are all going to confront the Avengers at SHIELD's headquarters over Jean's wedding date?"

"And to officially protest what Stark and Ms. Marvel said at that stupid parade," Rogue added. Scott, Bobby, Rogue, Kitty, Kurt, Logan, Hank and Lance were in the plane as well.

"And the reason we just don't wait for them to return to their mansion is…?" Kitty asked.

"Because the temptation to use Toad's suggestion of toilet papering their lawn was too great," Scott gritted his teeth.

"Oh this I have to watch," Lance said as he followed the X-Men out of the jet.

"That's why Wavedancer sent you with us?" Scott asked.

"That and the fact I really didn't want to get roped into Quicksilvers' House of Wedding Style," Lance said.

"Can't say I blame you," Logan shook his head. "That's why I'm here."

"Oh goody," Fury groaned as he walked up to the team with Captain America, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Wasp and Ms. Marvel in tow. "What do you want **now?**"

"First things first. You can't do your Everybody Loves The Avengers ceremony next Thursday," Scott said.

"Why not?" Iron Man asked.

"Because that's my wedding day to Jean," Scott said. "And you know how brides want their day to be about them. So pick another day."

"You came all the way up here to pick a fight over a stupid day?" Ms. Marvel was stunned.

"We also came here to pick a fight about a few other things but that's about the gist of it," Logan admitted. "Why do you guys need a special day anyway? Don't you have enough people in your fan club?"

"We have a new boss who thought the public could use a reminder that the Avengers are the good guys," Iron Man said.

"Yeah I can see that," Rogue drawled. "I was just saying the other day the Avengers really need to tell the world how **great **they are!"

"I noticed that we weren't invited to your parade," Kitty added. "Or how any involvement of the X-Men was swept under the rug."

"We mentioned you!" Hawkeye said. "We said that the X-Men assisted the Avengers…"

"Assisted **you?** That's a laugh!" Rogue spat. "We saved your freaking asses! Hell you didn't even know Captain America was a fake until we came along!"

"Technically that was Dracula," Iron Man coughed. "You can kind of see why we skimmed over that part."

"Skimmed over? How about completely buried the truth?" Scott snapped. "I can't believe how ungrateful you people are!"

"Ungrateful?" Ms. Marvel bristled.

"Jean almost singlehandedly got rid of the Skrulls and you don't even mention that!" Scott snapped.

"Cyclops I don't think the public needs to be reminded about an all-powerful mutant with cosmic powers that can scare the crap out of an evil alien empire," Fury sighed. "We were doing you a favor when…"

"Doing us a **favor?** If **that** is what you call a favor I'd hate to see what your idea of sabotage is!" Remy snapped.

"Oh yeah that was **real nice **of you to not minimize the contribution the X-Men had for saving the world, again!" Logan ground his teeth. "And then it was so **wonderful** of you to throw a parade taking the credit for what we did! Thanks a lot!"

"Technically that was Gyrich's idea," Captain America groaned.

"Hold on. Gyrich? Henry 'Let's Kill All The Mutants' Gyrich?" Bobby spoke up. "The guy who was in charge of Mutant Affairs before he screwed everything up? **That's **the Gyrich now in charge of the Avengers?"

"Technically he's not in charge. I am," Fury said. "Gyrich just handles some of the more…mundane tasks. As well as public relations."

"Public relations? Gyrich in charge of public relations for the Avengers?" Rogue was stunned.

"Well that explains why we didn't get our parade," Kurt quipped.

"Forget the parade, how the hell did that maniac not go to jail after what he did?" Rogue shouted.

"Funny, a lot of people ask the same questions about **you**," Hawkeye remarked.

"Hawkeye **please,"** Fury said. "Look Cyclops there's no reason why you can't have your wedding on that date too."

"Except the fact that it would be completely overshadowed by the Avengers! And we need the good publicity more than they do!" Scott said.

"Cyclops we have more pressing matters to worry about than you and Phoenix tying the knot," Fury was getting a headache. "We have a world to watch over first unlike you…"

"I don't put the world first?" Scott was stunned. "Did you really just accuse…? I don't **believe** this! All I have ever **done** is put the world first!"

"That was…badly worded," Fury winced. "Listen Cyclops…"

"No, **you** listen!" Scott snapped. "Ever since I was a kid all I have ever **done **was think about others! Before I got my glasses I was afraid of opening my eyes! I would sit in darkness rather than see people and put them in danger! When the Professor took me in I devoted myself to honing my powers and my body so I could save people and teach others to do so! I have put myself and my friends' lives on the line again and again and again to save the world…I don't even **know** how many times!"

"Cyclops…" Ms. Marvel began.

"When Magneto threatened the world, my team was there to stop him!" Scott snapped. "When Apocalypse threatened the world my team got in his way and stopped him!"

"Technically the last time it was more Benny than you…" Iron Man began.

"Shut up Stark!" Scott snarled. "We've fought against alien races to terrorists to killer robots and everything in between! You name it, we fought for it! We even fought other mutants so that the world would have peace! And you dare insult me and my team and our allies by saying we don't put the world first? All we have ever **done **is put the world first! And if we haven't quite frankly none of you would be standing here!"

"We save your ungrateful hides again and again and again and all we ask in return is tolerance and a little respect," Rogue glared. "And even **that **you have trouble giving us!"

"You treat us all like we're the unwanted trouble making foster kids that got shoved on your doorstep and look down on us the second anything goes wrong!" Lance glared. "But you have no problems having us fight your battles for you don't you?"

"That is not the…" Iron Man began.

"Yes it is, Stark! And you **know** it!" Scott interrupted. "Well maybe it is a little **selfish **of me to expect mutants to be treated like human beings instead of weapons! And yeah I guess it is selfish of me to assume that you would give us **some gratitude** for saving your lives!"

"And you never let us forget it do you?" Ms. Marvel fumed. "Oh poor mutants! Always fighting to save a world that hates them. Okay you guys have to deal with a lot of prejudice and crap. We **get** it! But not everything is about **you!"**

"This was about what was best for the public," Fury began.

"Best for the public? Or best for **you**?" Scott snapped. "Alvers is right! You just want to shove us all to the side and hope the public forgets about us! Well forget it. We are here to stay! Deal with it!"

"Typical. You have to make it all about the mutants don't you?" Hawkeye grumbled.

"That's pretty hypocritical considering the Avengers are little more than a group of glory hounds hired to be the poster boys for the government," Rogue snarled.

"Are you **serious?**" Ms. Marvel shouted. "The Avengers are about saving people and the world!"

"As long as those people aren't mutants," Rogue said.

"If that is what you think of us little wonder most people can't see you as heroes!" Ms. Marvel snapped. "You have no idea what the word means!"

"I know some words that I'm pretty sure **you** would know!" Rogue yelled back.

"ENOUGH!" Fury shouted. "God…What is wrong with all of you? Look I know there has been a lot of tension but seriously? Haven't we all been through enough fighting for both sides to tone it down?"

"Tone it down? You're a freaking **instigator**!" Kitty shouted. "Who sent the vampires, werewolves and half the magical world to Bayville? Who's been keeping secrets from his own team on what deals he's been doing? Who tried to get away with keeping Sentinels online even though they've been banned?"

"The only time you ever helped us during the war was when it suited your purposes," Logan pointed out. "So you and your precious Avengers and SHIELD could stay on the good side of the government and come out smelling like a rose!"

"Your jealousy is really pathetic!" Ms. Marvel snapped.

"Us? Jealous of **you?** Don't make me laugh!" Rogue snapped. "It's all the special treatment you get…"

"Oh look who is complaining about special treatment!" Ms. Marvel shouted. "Ever since you mutants came out it's been mutant this and mutant that and mutants need special help and blah blah blah! And whenever a mutant gets out of control it's not his fault, it's that he has trouble with his powers and he needs help and understanding and all that crap you use to justify the damage you do! I mean look at you! How many years have you been at Xavier's and you **still **can't control your powers!"

"Don't **go** there, witch," Rogue glared at Ms. Marvel.

"Carol…back off," Iron Man whispered, realizing how close this was coming to a throw down.

"Don't tell me to back off!" Ms. Marvel snapped. "This bitch stole my powers and put me in a coma!"

"For just a few hours! You were fine!" Rouge snapped. "And you know very well that Magneto somehow put some of your DNA into me and I was brainwashed by Legion into fighting you that one time!"

"Notice how you blame **everyone** except yourself who can't control her powers in the first place!" Ms. Marvel shouted.

"Maybe I'll have better luck controlling that mouth of yours?" Rogue made a fist and started to move towards her.

"Try it Skunk Head!" Ms. Marvel prepared to fight. "I've been itching for a rematch!"

"Marvel! Stand down!" Fury shouted. "NOW!"

"Carol knock it off!" Iron Man snapped. "And Cyclops control your team mate!"

"My teammate needs control? What about Ms. Mouth over there?" Scott pointed at Ms. Marvel.

"Yeah she's the one who started it!" Kitty protested.

"Typical mutants. Always sticking up for each other even when they're wrong," Hawkeye snorted.

"Hey! I'm not on their side!" Wasp snapped. "Don't lump me in with them!"

"Yeah don't lump Wasp in with us," Rogue said. "I'd give us a bad name!"

"I didn't mean you, Janet," Hawkeye said. "You're obviously the **exception** to the rule!"

"Someone should tell you about our little rule when you insult mutants bub!" Logan shot out his claws.

"NO! NO! NO! BOTH SIDES STAND DOWN NOW!" Fury shouted. "Damn it! We haven't even repaired the helicarrier from when the Sentinels broke out! The last thing we need is a super powered fight tearing up the place!"

"And just how **did** those Sentinels get out of control? I wonder," Hawkeye asked aloud.

"Oh sure! Blame the mutants for the malfunctioning machines **humans** built!" Lance snapped.

"Maybe if you mutants didn't run around causing so much damage…" Hawkeye began.

"And how much damage do your Avengers cause? Or any other superhero team that doesn't have any mutants on it?" Rogue snapped.

"Last I checked it was in the billions," Remy agreed.

"It's not like you guys are the only ones with problems after the uprising you know?" Iron Man grumbled.

"No, but we are the ones stuck with rebuilding our race after a **war!"** Rogue snapped. "That's a pretty big problem don't you think?"

"Yeah well we got stuck with Gyrich!" Hawkeye shouted.

Rogue thought for a moment. "Okay. We'll give you that."

"Better you than us," Logan snorted. "Good luck Avengers. You're gonna need it with that weasel."

"Especially **you **Wasp, my dear," Kitty smirked.

"Don't worry. We won't out you out of the genetic closet," Rogue smiled. "It's gonna be too much fun watching you squirm."

"But I'd **love** to see what happens when he does find out," Remy grinned. "And you know that slime will sooner or later. Then again, Gyrich couldn't find a rock in his shoe…"

"Speaking of something coming out from under a rock…" Kitty remarked as Gyrich entered the room.

"What the hell are **they** doing here?" Gyrich shouted as he walked up to Fury.

"Selling Mutant Scout Cookies," Lance quipped. "Would you like to buy a box?"

"What the hell are they doing here?" Gyrich snapped at Fury.

"Cyclops I don't think that this little issue is that important…" Fury began.

"Oh I think it is," Scott said. "I was considering changing our date but now I'm fully resolved for getting it!"

"Date? What date?" Gyrich was confused.

"It's not that important," Fury sighed.

"Yes it is! Next Thursday is **our **day! You pick another day for your Avengers Love In!" Scott snapped.

"Why? What's so important about next Thursday?" Gyrich asked.

"Cyclops and Phoenix are getting married that day," Remy said.

"It's not like we knew about that you know?" Hawkeye snapped.

"Tell me this isn't because the Phoenix is pregnant!" Gyrich snapped.

"WHAT?" Iron Man and the Avengers shouted.

"How do you know that?" Scott glared at Gyrich.

"I make it a point to keep tabs on my enemies!" Gyrich glared back. "It's bad enough we allow the Phoenix to fly free! And now another one is one the way!"

"**Another** Phoenix?" Hawkeye looked nervous.

"Not necessarily," Hank said calmly. "It's not even a hundred percent certain that the baby will be born a mutant. Much less…"

"Not a **hundred percent**? The kid melted an entire ultrasound system!" Gyrich shouted. "I'm pretty sure that's a half way decent indicator of what kind of destruction that mutant will cause!"

"Okay, **now **I get why Cyclops is so gung ho about all this," Hawkeye gulped.

"And knowing is a damn good reason to make the bride happy," Rogue told him.

"I don't know why you are allowing this to happen Fury!" Gyrich shouted. "The last thing we need is another super powered mutant running around! We need to confront Jean Grey and contain her before she gives birth!"

"Sure Gyrich. Pick a fight with a hormonal cosmic powered firebird," Lance drawled. "**What **could go wrong?"

"He's right. We don't dare go and take her from the custody of the X-Men," Fury said. "It's best for everyone if she stays where she is."

"Are you insane? Do you have any idea the power….?" Gyrich began.

"Look Gyrich, I got enough problems to deal with without ticking off a Phoenix Baby Mama," Fury got in his face. "You saw what she did to the Skrulls! And she wasn't even trying!"

"All the more reason for us to have Thursday," Kitty spoke up.

"You're still complaining about **that**?" Hawkeye shouted.

"YES WE ARE!" Kitty shouted.

"Un freaking believable!" Ms. Marvel threw up her hands. This was followed by complains, threats and insults on both sides.

"HOLD IT!" Captain America shouted. "Okay fine! You can **have **Thursday! We'll take Friday! How's that?"

"What are you doing Captain America? You're handing over your day to these **freaks?**" Gyrich shouted.

"They're heroes just as much as we are and if it keeps the peace around here for **five minutes** yes!" Captain America shouted.

"Finally! Someone around here who is **reasonable**," Rogue grinned.

"Reasonable? This is the freaking Phoenix we are talking about!" Gyrich shouted. "Why are we even allowing that freak to even breed?"

"Don't **go** there Gyrich," Logan snarled as he shot out his claws. "Not if you want to keep your tongue!"

"Besides, last I checked you guys had a **Norse God** on your side," Kitty pointed out. "We don't give you crap about that!"

"At least Thor doesn't do as much damage as you mutants do!" Gyrich snapped.

"You wouldn't say that if you went out bar hopping with us last weekend," Iron Man quipped.

"And I heard a rumor that you guys recently recruited the Hulk," Lance folded his arms.

"The Hulk? When was this?" Rogue asked.

"Recently," Lance said. "Apparently his cousin the She Hulk convinced him to join. Oh yeah apparently he got smarter and took over Banner's body semi-permanently now."

"How do you know all this?" Kitty asked.

"Joes heard it through the grapevine," Lance said.

"Really? I didn't see the Hulk in your Avengers parade," Hank remarked.

"Yeah things have been a little…Testy since he joined," Iron Man groaned.

"I'll bet they have," Logan smirked.

"Meaning we have enough problems with the super powered maniacs we have without letting more come into the world!" Gyrich snapped.

"Gyrich, Phoenix was pardoned. And unless she blows up a chunk of the planet while giving birth, there's nothing we can do about it!" Fury snapped. "You're just going to have to lump it!"

"Listen you freaks, I may not be able to do anything about you mutants now. But I warn you, just one toe out of line and bam! I will get my revenge!" Gyrich snarled. "I'll sic the Avengers on you faster than you can blink!"

"Ooh. Scared," Rogue yawned.

"Not," Lance scoffed.

"Hey wait a minute! I may not be the X-Men's biggest fan but I'm not gonna fight your battles for you Gyrich!" Hawkeye snapped.

"That goes double for me," Fury glared at him. "The Avengers are not here to be your personal thugs, Gyrich. So knock off your personal bias against mutants before I knock you into next week!"

"Gambit would love to see that," Remy smirked.

"Look I may not have a choice as far as the Hulk and She Hulk are concerned," Gyrich snapped. "I had no choice but to accept them but at least those two were technically nothing more than accidental super powers. Not disgusting mutants!"

"So you're saying that a mutant on the Avengers would **taint** your perfect team?" Lance raised an eyebrow.

"Gyrich…" Fury warned.

"No, Fury. Let him answer the question," Scott said in a tone that indicated he wanted to hear this. "Go on Gyrich. Tell us how you **really feel."**

"No mutant is going to be on the Avengers on my watch!" Gyrich shouted. "I am personally going to see to that!"

"So you're saying that you won't let any mutants be on the team?" Bobby said purposely being obtuse.

"I guess I shouldn't bother sending in a membership card then," Hank quipped.

"As if the Avengers would consider letting any one of you to be a member!" Gyrich snapped. "I may have some personal hesitations about some of the Avengers but at least I can count on all of them to be **real** heroes! Not genetic freaks **pretending** to be one!"

It was then that the X-Men and Lance started to laugh. "Okay I guess we know when we're not wanted!" Scott snickered. "We got our day back. Let's go and prepare."

"See ya around Avengers," Remy scoffed as the mutants went back into the Blackbird.

"What the hell were they laughing about?" Gyrich blinked as they left. "Crazy mutants. They're all nuts!" He stormed away muttering how he had more important things to do.

"We can never tell him can we?" Iron Man asked.

"No, we cannot," Fury groaned.

"The X-Men are never going to let us forget this aren't they?" Wasp moaned.

"What do you think?" Hawkeye groaned.

Back in the Blackbird the mutants were enjoying the latest turn of events.

"We're going to have a lot of fun dragging this out over the years aren't we?" Hank smirked.

"Yeah we are," Scott said. "But what's not going to be fun is competing with the Avengers."

"Told you it was a competition," Rogue snorted.

"Okay you were right," Kurt said. "But does anyone have any ideas what to do about it?"

"I do," Scott said. "Call Spyke. I think this is right up his alley."

"What do you mean?" Kurt looked worried.

"He means his studio, duh! Not the **other thing**!" Bobby rolled his eyes. "And you guys think I'm thick!"

"He's right. We have to start thinking outside the box," Scott said. "Remember what Rocker did with the MLF? He always made sure his people were shown in a positive light. I think Evan's company might be a good way to go."

"Wait you want to market us? What we're all gonna be put on lunchboxes and toys and crap like that?" Logan was stunned.

"It works for the Avengers and Fantastic Four," Remy spoke up. "If you think about it, it's the ultimate rip off and it's perfectly legal."

"You want us to sell out?" Logan shouted.

"Not sell out, promote ourselves and mutant kind as heroes," Scott said.

"And if we happen to make a few billion dollars in profit that's just the icing on the cake," Remy grinned.

"That's right. You think Tony Stark cares if he makes money off of this or not?" Rogue spoke up. "And I remember my history lessons, Captain America did a lot of bond selling for the war effort during his time too."

"Bond selling?" Kurt asked.

"During the war the government used to parade the Cap around in USO shows and patriotic rallies in order to stir up the public so they would support the government by buying war bonds and donate scrap metal," Logan explained. "Sold everything from comic books to trading cards in order to get extra cash for their secret projects."

"Well two can play the public relations game," Scott snapped. "The Avengers want competition! We'll give it to them!"

"Why do I have the feeling this is gonna end up badly for all of us?" Logan groaned.


	21. X Vs A Part II Dracula Explains It All

**X Vs A Part II: Dracula Explains It All**

The following day in a refurbished castle in Bayville…

"Oh Dark Gods of the Netherworld what the hell are those lunatics up to **now**?" Dracula groaned as he watched television in a large windowless living room on his favorite chair.

"We're back to the Gordon Grant Show live with our special guests Robert 'Iceman' Drake and Katherine 'Shadowcat' Pryde," A middle aged wavy haired late evening talk show host with a smarmy grin and a British accent spoke.

"Call me Kitty Mr. Grant," Kitty smiled. "Everyone does."

"Only if you don't call me Mr. Grant," Grant smirked. "It makes me feel old."

"If you want to feel old Gordon try fighting a ton of Sentinels for an afternoon sometime," Bobby hammed up faking back pain. "I still have swollen joints I didn't even know I had!"

"Now why would Cyclops let those two do a talk show with one of the biggest rabble-rousers the media has?" Dracula wondered aloud. "Probably just a desparate attempt to hook the youth vote or something."

"Okay let me ask a question here," Grant spoke up. "As some of the younger more profiled X-Men I have to ask, is there any romance between you two?"

"No! I mean no…" Kitty was stunned.

"Oh no. Kitty's with Colossus," Bobby waved. "I'm single but those two are a couple."

"There's no time for romance I'm afraid," Kitty said. "What with rebuilding Bayville and getting all the new mutant protocols in place."

"So you are doing all this work with very little help from other so called heroes," Grant said.

"Well they say they're helping us but yes you get the picture," Bobby smirked.

"Ah I see now why Grant wanted them on the show," Dracula grumbled. "He's not exactly the Avenger's biggest fan. And anyone against the Avengers is good for Grant and his ratings," Dracula finished.

"I don't understand Father," Frank the son of Dracula spoke up as he sat on the couch. He was a tall thin vampire male with blue eyes and blonde hair. He was wearing a brown sweater and jeans with sneakers. "Aren't the X-Men and the Avengers friends?"

"Not exactly," Dracula sighed.

"It's a complicated issue Honey," Cindy spoke up. Dracula's wife was wearing a striking gold top with white pants that complimented her long blonde hair. She wore a large diamond around her neck on a gold chain.

"I'm not saying the Avengers don't want to help," Bobby whistled. "It's just that with all the late night partying Tony Stark does…"

"Of course," Dracula scoffed. "Why **not** get into a public flame war with the Avengers? **That **will be productive!"

"What exactly is this fight about?" Frank asked. "I thought the war was over?"

"It is. But someone forgot to tell **them** that," Dracula smirked as he turned down the volume on the television so they could talk.

"So what is the fight about?" Frank asked.

"To put it simply," Dracula shook his head. "The X-Men are mad at the Avengers for not getting involved in a war they really had no business getting involved with in the first place."

"And the Avengers are mad at the X-Men for defending themselves in a war their own species caused," Cindy added. "Well the ones that are human anyway. I think the other half humans and non-humans are just going along with the crowd."

"But humans and mutants are technically the same species right?" Frank asked. "Like us and the other vampire clans."

"Exactly. Each vampire clan has their strengths which we use according to our advantage and any additional power or skill that a clan comes up with is prized," Dracula nodded. "But for some reason humans don't see it that way."

"So all the humans could get stronger if they'd just get along and share their gifts like we do?" Frank scratched his head. "But they don't because they're too proud? I don't get it."

"I will never understand humans completely either honey," Cindy shook her head. "And I used to be one."

"Indeed. What is it about their species that makes them so vain?" Dracula asked. "And as a vampire you have to admit that is saying something. I admit our species has its own brand of hubris. But the difference is we've earned it and we know when to play it down. Usually."

"I know. I mean I know I'm better and stronger as a vampire than I ever was as a human but I don't feel the need to rub it in everyone's faces," Cindy nodded.

"Right. If the humans and the mutants want to think they are the 'superior species' then let them," Dracula waved. "It just makes it easier for those of us who actually are."

Dracula smirked. "It's funny if you think about it. Here are these mutants whose race has barely begun…not even a full thousand years and they think they're the next step in evolution. And the humans are fighting the mutants because they believe they are at the pinnacle of evolution. The vampire race is almost a million years old and yet we're clearly more 'evolved' than the two of them combined. It's just funny."

"They're like children," Cindy said. "The older species competing with the younger one. And the younger one fighting back to prove themselves to the older one. Both want recognition and safety and neither side will admit their weaknesses to the other."

"The true evolution of oneself is the formula of age plus wisdom plus power," Frank spoke up.

"You know your vampire proverbs," Dracula nodded. "Maybe those three years at Vampire College weren't such a waste after all?"

"I graduated Vampire College," Frank frowned.

"Barely," Dracula moaned. "After I donated three buildings and enough park benches for the entire student body to sit on."

"Frank just learns at a different rate than most vampires," Cindy said patting her son's hand.

"Cindy you know as well as I that it takes only six months for a vampire to graduate Vampire College," Dracula gave her a look. "And in my day Vampire College wasn't even **that** long!"

"Here we go…" Frank moaned.

"In my day Vampire College didn't have all these fancy videos to watch plus thousands more years of information and history to learn using a stupid cheat sheet!" Dracula fumed. "We had two scrolls and three books and one of them was only five pages long! But you had to memorize every single word as well as demonstrate how well you could fight off a pack of werewolves! **That **was education!"

"Honey we're getting off track again," Cindy said. "We were talking about the humans and the mutants."

"Oh yes, right. The truth is there are scars on each side from the war and what happened with the Skrulls," Dracula said. "And neither wants to admit that they failed in some aspect. So it's easier to blame each other or just pretend that they are better than the other side."

"The humans don't want to appear weak and obsolete and the mutants don't want to appear weak and needy," Cindy said. "It's a shame cycle that just keeps feeding itself over and over again."

"I'm not saying both sides don't have a point," Dracula added. "But both mutants and humans tend to take things way too personally. Take the Avengers. Yes, they didn't mention the contribution of vampires and werewolves and downplayed the mutants' role in the Skrull invasion…."

"And you're not angry about that?" Frank asked.

"Please, I've done a lot of saving as well as destroying quite a few times back in the day," Dracula waved. "I once saved an entire village from a murderous horde of Visigoths. But did I get as much as a thank you note? No. But I didn't take it personally. I knew they had trust issues…"

"Because you fed on half of the town and killed the other half after the invasion," Cindy folded her arms.

"Details…" Dracula shrugged. "Okay maybe I took it a little personally?"

"Uh huh," Cindy sighed.

"And I also have done other things to save the world," Dracula said. "I even once saved the planet from Apocalypse way back in the day the first time he escaped from his prison."

"You **did?"** Frank's eyes widened.

"Yes, I never told you that story did I?" Dracula asked. "It's a real good one! Much better than all those fake Hollywood crap movies!"

"Here we go again," Cindy sighed. "Let it go Darling."

"Let it go? Those hacks have been defaming me for years!" Dracula snapped. "It was bad enough when Brahms Stoker completely changed all the facts in that book his wrote and nearly destroyed my reputation! And it was even worse with all those other movies copied that book! But all those stupid B-Movies? That is the **real** insult!"

"Drac Honey…" Cindy said.

"All inaccurate and completely twisting the facts! Dracula Rises From His Grave," Dracula got up from his chair and started to pace back and forth. "Dracula Lord of the Damned. Dracula Gets A Bad Haircut! Dracula Dead and Loving It!"

"That one was really bad," Frank winced.

"Dracula Meets Abbot and Costello! I **never met** Abbot and Costello!" Dracula threw up his hands. "I met Sophia Loren once! At the beginning of her career! **That **was a story! But does Hollywood even **consider **that? NOOOOO!"

"Your point about the Avengers Darling?" Cindy rolled her eyes.

"Right. The Avengers didn't want to frighten the human race any more than it already is," Dracula said.

"News of a super powered mutant defeating an alien invasion without breaking a fingernail would panic the public into hating mutants all over again," Cindy went on. "Because humans aren't smart enough to be grateful to someone with the power to protect them. They fear what they can't control or understand."

"Humans are like sheep and the Avengers and SHIELD have set themselves up as the shepherds," Dracula composed himself as he sat back down. "This is about job security which I can understand. Besides they have been fighting the Skrulls a bit longer than the X-Men."

"And the X-Men?"

"It was mostly Phoenix who did all the work," Dracula said. "The others are just coasting along on her coattails. On the other hand, the mutants don't want to be shot at and killed. A sentiment I can also understand."

"So both sides are right and both sides are wrong," Frank thought aloud.

"Exactly. Now the trick is how to manipulate their egos to your advantage," Dracula said. "The mutants are easy. For once. We saved the town from the evil shape shifting aliens and we will continue to do so in the future. Just in case they break their word and come back."

"But they're not so stupid to trust us all right off the bat just because we helped them out once," Susan said.

"Of course they aren't," Dracula said. "They will still be suspicious and wary of us which is the smart way to be. We are vampires after all. Only a fool would completely trust those that are more powerful than he is. The irony of this is that they are miffed when humans do it to them and can't understand why."

"So they're mad when humans look at them with suspicion and don't trust them even though they helped the humans," Frank thought aloud. "But they don't realize they're doing the same thing to us?"

"Exactly dear," Cindy nodded. "They're not a very self-aware species are they?"

"I fear the majority of them aren't. They put way too much stock in their powers and not enough in their experiences," Dracula said. "With some exceptions of course. But that is how the majority of mutants think."

"Because they think their powers make them the next step in evolution," Frank nodded.

"Exactly," Dracula said.

"And we think that vampires are stronger than all of them not just because of our powers?" Frank thought.

"Yes Frank. What was the proverb you just said a few minutes ago?" Dracula sighed. "Our species has powers yes. But we also have the wisdom to know that we have weaknesses as well and the experience to handle that."

"So you deal with the mutants by pointing out that they're acting like humans?" Frank asked.

"In a sense yes. It gives them a guilt complex. For some reason even though they are almost the same species most mutants don't want to be reminded they are just like their human predecessors," Dracula said. "Even though the point of the Mutant War was that mutants are human too."

"Okay that's just weird," Frank made a face.

"Mutants are weird," Cindy said. "Then again look where they came from."

"Now the humans are a bit tricky. Then again dealing with humans always is," Dracula sighed. "Yes we can offer our same services but those humans particularly Fury are not going to be so grateful. If anything they'll be more paranoid because they will think that we vampires wil do the exact same trick the Skrulls will do."

"So how do we deal with the humans?" Frank asked.

"By smiling with happy fangs and reminding them there are other species that are just as dangerous," Dracula said. "Remember, humans love to fight even more than vampires. Frank, how many great vampire wars have there been in history? Among vampires only?"

"One. The Great Vampire War which lasted fifty years until you and several other leaders united the vampire clans," Frank said.

"Only once in our history have vampires gone after vampires," Dracula said. "Oh yes there are individual skirmishes for power and revenge. But they don't involve large armies. Only once did vampire armies fight other vampire armies and it nearly killed us all. We learned from that mistake. Humans didn't."

"Humans fight each other all the time. Always over the smallest of things," Cindy said. "Mostly power."

"They just don't know how to do it right," Dracula sighed. "They are impatient. Willing to blame everyone but themselves."

"Like the Avengers?" Frank asked.

"To an extent yes," Dracula nodded. "Let's do a head count. The Super Soldier. He was made for fighting. He fights not just for his men but for an idea. And would do anything in his power to protect that idea."

"And that idea is for justice and freedom and…" Frank stopped. "What was the third thing again?"

"The American Way," Dracula groaned. "Honestly Frank do you ever pay attention to the news?"

"The focus is the **American** Way. Not the **Human **Way," Cindy pointed out.

"Now don't get me wrong. I love America! I mean where else could a vampire like me get so many rights and privileges?" Dracula said. "And better yet a reality show! Which reminds me I have to call Bravo back. They want another season of Undead and Loving It!"

"Ooh goody," Cindy clapped her hands. "I told you they loved us!"

"They did. But back to my point," Dracula got back on track. "Captain America is a defender of only one point of view. One idea in a world of thousands. Okay admittedly it is a good idea but still…"

"He doesn't always see the big picture and focuses on individual people instead of what's best for everyone," Cindy explained.

"Exactly. Now Tony Stark AKA Iron Man is the opposite. He sees the future as a technological paradise where technology solves everyone's problems and we're all living in a Jetson's themed universe," Dracula explained. "Sometimes he sees too much of the big picture and ignores the individual consequences sometimes."

"But wouldn't the two of them working together balance each other out?" Frank asked.

"Sometimes. It would be more effective if they were vampires. But since they are not it is only a matter of time before they go at each other's throats over something," Dracula said. "My point is with a few exceptions almost all the Avengers are human. Or at the very least started out human."

"And humans believe that the Earth belongs to them despite the existence of all the other species that reside on this planet," Cindy said. "Deep down they all think that. It's even in the Bible. How God gave man dominion over all living things."

"You've read the human bible?" Dracula asked.

"I used to go to Catholic school years ago," Cindy waved. "Got kicked out when I was sixteen. Not for anything I did mind you. But…Let's just say my parents really ruined one of our school dances."

"Is this the same Dance of Shame where your father was caught making out with a woman in a closet and your mother set fire to the bleachers?" Dracula asked.

"Yes. And the woman was a nun so…" Cindy sighed. "After that we kind of had to leave town. And one of the reasons why I ran away from home to pursue a modeling career at the age of seventeen."

"Wow Mom our family tree is really interesting," Frank whistled.

"Interesting is not the word for it," Cindy groaned. "The point is that humans have a very distinct world view and mutants as well as vampires challenge that world view."

"Both humans and mutants think that their species in the pinnacle of evolution which we all know that's a crock," Dracula said. "So they fight and bicker with each other."

"And where do we fit in?" Frank asked.

"Besides the fact we can eat humans and mutants?" Cindy gave her son a look.

"Listen and learn…" Dracula smirked as he turned on a cell phone. "Hello? Stephan? It's Dracula. How are you doing? How is the family? Good, good…Say Stephan I just came up with an idea and I know as a producer you could always use a good idea…"

"Producer?" Frank whispered to his mother.

"You'd be surprised how many vampire producers there are in Hollywood," Cindy whispered back. "Then again it is Hollywood so being a bloodthirsty power hungry egomaniac is kind of a given."

"Sounds like we'd have a real leg up in that business," Frank agreed.

"Remember you said you wanted to spice up that Feud show for Sweeps? I think I have just figured out a way…" Dracula grinned. "How about two superhero teams play for charity? Yes. Those are the two I thought of. Oh I'm pretty sure they'd **jump** at the chance to play once they hear the other is involved!"

"What is he planning?" Frank was still clueless.

"Chaos my boy," Cindy smirked. "Lots and lots of chaos."

"Of course it goes without saying that you not mention it was my idea," Dracula said. "You take all the credit for it. I insist! Oh Stephan we've been friends for centuries! Of course I don't mind. Always happy to help out a fellow vampire in our time of need. Huh? Sure I could do a cameo for you. Which show? Really? I **love** that one! I get my usual fee for an appearance right? Good! Thanks buddy! Good bye!"

"Wait you are going to send members of the Avengers, X-Men and Misfits all in the same place as a **game show**?" Cindy was stunned as her husband closed his phone. "Oh darling that is **wicked!"**

"Now we sit back and watch both sides act like fools," Dracula smirked. "And enjoy the show."

"So basically we survive by letting the two sides fight each other?" Frank asked.

"It's worked beautifully for us for almost a million years," Dracula said. "For the most part anyway."

"One little flaw in the plan," Frank frowned. "How are you going to get them to agree on going on this game show in the first place?"

"Stephan will handle it. All he has to do is say to one team that the other one is going to be there and they will jump at the chance to defend their honor and more importantly kick the other team in the teeth!" Dracula grinned as he sat back down in his chair.

"But what makes you so sure that will work?" Frank asked.

"Oh dear…" Cindy frowned when she saw what was going on TV. She turned up the volume.

While they were talking it seemed that Hawkeye had managed to come on the program and was now arguing with Bobby and Kitty. "Face it, you X-Men are nothing but a bunch of glory hogs!" Hawkeye fumed.

"Who are you calling a glory hog, Miss Piggy?" Kitty snapped.

"Hey, Hawkeye! Cool off!" Bobby called out. He created a snowball and threw it in Hawkeye's face.

"That's it!" Hawkeye started to charge but suddenly two SHIELD agents came out and restrained him. "HEY! Let me go! LET ME GO! I'M GONNA CLEAN FROSTY THE SNOW BOY'S CLOCK!"

"Oh I think it will. I love reality television!" Dracula laughed.


	22. X Vs A: The Feud Is On!

**X Verses A Part III: The Feud Is On! **

"This is stupid," Rogue hissed.

"I agree with Rogue," Kitty said.

"Just stand over there," Scott told them.

"And now it's time to play the Frenemy Feud! Where two rival groups play for cash!" An announcer called out. "Today's teams are two rival Super Hero teams playing for The Red Cross! Everybody is a winner!"

"Why are we playing for the Red Cross? Not that they aren't a good organization but…" Bobby asked.

"Because if we play for a mutant related charity no one would go for it and the Red Cross was the only one both sides would agree on," Scott said. "Now stand over there!"

"I don't want to stand next to him!" Kitty said.

"Tough! Do it!" Scott hissed.

"Make me!" Kitty hissed back.

"First up the Avengers! Captain America! Iron Man! Ms. Marvel! Thor! And Hawkeye!" The announcer went on.

"Again, why are we doing this?" Kitty hissed.

"Because Wolverine was smart and went into hiding," Rogue grumbled. "Now stand over here!"

"I don't want to stand over here! **You **stand over here!" Kitty hissed back.

"No, you stand over **there!**" Rogue snapped.

"I want to stand over here!" Kurt said.

"No Kurt! No! Move it!" The X-Men began to jostle with each other.

"And now the X-Men! Cyclops! Shadowcat! Nightcrawler! Rogue! And Iceman!"

As the curtain moved the sight of the X-Men in their uniforms shoving each other and pushing each other around to get into the position they wanted was shown. It was comical how they all stopped and looked at the audience at the same time. They held that pose for at least five full seconds before Rogue hit Bobby and Kurt on the head and yanked Kitty down so they could go to the podiums. Scott sheepishly followed.

"Oh yes, that's some **team work** those people have," Hawkeye was heard snickering from across the room.

"This is going to be **easy**," Ms. Marvel remarked.

"And now your host for Frienemy Feud, Chuck Chickoring!" The announcer called out.

"Hello! Hello!" A handsome young man with well-groomed blonde hair, blue eyes, an expensive grey suit and tie and expensive shoes bounced out smiling with very white teeth. Chuck went to the X-Men side first in order to shake the hands of all the contestants.

Unfortunately Chuck also had a bad habit of kissing the female contestants on the cheek. "Wait no!" Rogue protested as he gave her a peck.

It was too late.

THUD!

"Now who saw **that** coming?" Ms. Marvel crowed as Chuck fell unconscious to the floor.

"Ew…" Rogue blinked. "You would not believe some of the kinky stuff Chuck is into."

"Uh I think we need a break…" A producer called out. "Uh he's going to be okay isn't he?"

"Yeah he only got a short tap," Kitty looked at the host on the floor. "He should wake up in an hour or so."

"I am going to have sick dreams for life…" Rogue groaned. "Seriously this guy is way into the Fifty Shades series."

"There is no way this guy is touching me," Ms. Marvel wrinkled her nose in disgust.

One hour later…

"Okay let's try this again," Chuck coughed as he decided to start the show on the other side of the room with the Avengers. Unfortunately for Chuck he didn't learn his lesson and when he kissed Ms. Marvel.

"HEY! PIG!" Ms. Marvel snapped. She whacked him hard and Chuck flew across the room.

BAM!

Chuck flew into the wall and made a huge dent. "Mommy…" He gulped before he slid down. He passed out before he hit the floor.

"Oops," Ms. Marvel gulped.

"Okay who saw **that** coming?" Rogue crowed.

"We'll fix this in editing," The producer groaned from backstage. "I hope…"

Another hour and some painkillers later.

"Okay Cyclops. Captain America. To start the game we'll do a simple question. One hundred people surveyed, top three answers are on the board," Chuck said. His neck was in a neck brace. "Name a medieval form of protection."

Captain America hit his buzzer first. "Shield!"

"Show me shield!" Chuck called out.

DING!

"Number one answer! Avengers get to play!" Chuck called out.

"Oh yeah **that** was a fair question," Scott grumbled as he went back to his team.

"Okay Captain America one hundred people surveyed. Top five answers on the board. Name a common disaster people are afraid of," Chuck said.

"A Nazi bombing raid!" Captain America said.

"Are you **kidding**?" Iron Man gave him a look.

"Show me Nazi bombing raid!" Chuck said.

BUZZ!

"We're gonna lose aren't we?" Hawkeye groaned.

"Calm down, we got the rest of this," Ms. Marvel told him.

"Okay Iron Man, you name a common disaster people are afraid of," Chuck said.

"Earthquakes," Iron Man glared at Captain America.

"Show me earthquakes!" Chuck called out.

DING!

"Number two answer!" Chuck said. "Ms. Marvel, name a disaster that people are afraid of."

"Fire," Ms. Marvel smirked.

"Show me fire!" Chuck called out.

DING!

"Number one answer!" Chuck shouted.

"Oh sure! They get the easy question!" Bobby rolled his eyes.

"Thor! Name a disaster people are afraid of!" Chuck said.

"Frost demons!" Thor called out.

"WHAT?" Iron Man yelled.

BUZZ!

"Oh for crying out…" Iron Man groaned.

"Calm down I've got this," Hawkeye waved. "I got the next answer. Its avalanches. Gotta be."

"Good answer! Good answer!" Captain America and Ms. Marvel said.

"Show me avalanches!" Chuck called out.

BUZZ!

"Wait hold on! How did avalanches **not **make the list?" Hawkeye called out.

"Maybe they met Alvers?" Scott muttered under his breath.

"I think technically he goes under the earthquake category," Bobby pointed out.

"Way to go Hawkeye! Now the other team gets to steal!" Iron Man hissed.

"It's not my fault! Avalanches should be on there!" Hawkeye said.

"Yeah I'm kind of with him," Captain America pointed. "I would have thought people would have said that too."

"Okay X-Men, to steal the game! Name a common disaster people are afraid of," Chuck said.

"Giant killer robots!" Kurt shouted.

"Good answer! Good answer!" Bobby and Kitty called out. Scott glared at them.

"Oh crap," Rogue groaned. "We're gonna lose."

"Show me giant killer robots!" Chuck called out. "Survey says!"

DING!

"One person actually **said **that?" Ms. Marvel was shocked.

"Must have been a mutant in the survey," Hawkeye grumbled.

"Just for the heck of it, let's see the other two answers!"

DING! DING!

"Okay hurricanes I get but…**Mutants**?" Rogue was stunned.

"Huh, we should have known **that** one," Ms. Marvel scoffed. The X-Men glared at her.

"Bigger surprise is that **they** didn't know that," Hawkeye chuckled.

"Oh we so have got to kick their asses," Kitty gritted their teeth.

"All right! X-Men are in the lead with 85 points! Let's Feud!" Chuck called out. Kitty and Iron Man came up to the podium. "A hundred people were surveyed. Name an unexpected color you would find on a dragon."

"WHAT?" Iron Man was stunned.

Kitty buzzed in. "Purple!"

"Show me purple!" Chuck pointed to the board.

DING!

"Number one answer!" Chuck called out.

"HOLD ON! That's gotta be cheating!" Iron Man pointed at Kitty. "She has a purple dragon for crying out loud!"

"Suck it Stark!" Kitty smirked. "Let's go Chuck!"

"Actually I would have said purple too," Hawkeye admitted. Of course he had a purple uniform on.

"Oh shut up Hawkeye," Iron Man groaned as he returned to his team.

"What? He's not wrong," Thor began. "Back where I come from purple is a very unusual color on a dragon."

"Not our fault you dropped the ball," Hawkeye agreed.

"I'm in Hell," Iron Man hung his head down.

"Okay X-Men you're playing!" Chuck called out. "A hundred people were surveyed. Top five answers on the board. Name something that you wind up. Cyclops you're first."

"A watch," Scott said.

"Good answer! Good answer!" The X-Men cheered. They cheered even louder when it was the number one answer.

DING!

"A watch! Okay Shadowcat name something that you wind up," Chuck said.

"A pitch," Kitty said. Everyone looked at her. "You know? In baseball? You wind up a pitch?"

"Show me pitch!" Chuck said.

BUZZ!

"Really I would have thought that would have gotten something," Kitty grumbled.

"Okay one strike, Nightcrawler something you wind up," Chuck said.

"A cuckoo clock!" Nightcrawler said.

"That's the same thing as a watch!" Rogue snapped.

"No it is not," Nightcrawler said. "Besides back home we had this cuckoo clock we had to wind up all the time!"

"Show me cuckoo clock," Chuck groaned.

BUZZ!

"Two strikes, Rogue name something you wind up," Chuck said.

"A toy," Rogue glared at Kurt.

"Show me toy!" Chuck called out.

DING!

"Showoff," Kurt frowned.

"Okay Iceman name something that you wind up," Chuck said.

"Cyclops when he's getting too uptight," Bobby called out.

"ICEMAN!" Scott glared.

"Show me…Cyclops…?" Chuck groaned.

DING!

The words LEADER OF THE X-MEN was shown on the bottom. "Okay now I **know **they had one mutant in that survey!" Hawkeye called out.

"Okay Cyclops name something that you wind up," Chuck said.

"Uh…Portable fusion generator!" Scott said in panic.

"WHAT?" His team yelled in dismay.

BUZZ!

"Okay now the Avengers get a chance to steal!" Chuck said as he went over to the other side.

"Lord I'm on a team of morons," Rogue moaned.

"I'm not the one who got a question wrong!" Bobby snapped.

"And you though **my answer** was stupid?" Kitty glared at Scott.

"We're doomed," Rogue said.

"Okay Captain America name something you wind up," Chuck said.

"A letter!" Captain America called out.

**"What?"** Iron Man yelled.

BUZZ!

"The X-Men win the points!" Chuck called out.

"I don't believe it," Rogue's jaw dropped. "They're dumber than we are!"

"Again, I got my question **right!**" Bobby glared at her.

"Cap, why the hell did you say a letter?" Hawkeye yelled.

"It's a common expression," Captain America blinked. "You wind up a letter at the end."

"What?" Ms. Marvel raised an eyebrow.

"NOBODY WRITES LETTERS ANYMORE LET ALONE WINDING THEM UP!" Iron Man yelled.

"Ha ha," Bobby mocked. "You guys are losing!"

"Only because you're **cheating!**" Iron Man snapped.

"How? How **exactly **are we cheating?" Rogue glared at him.

"Technically she's right," Captain America said. "I mean none of them are telepaths."

"Well Rogue could be one whenever she wants if you get my drift," Ms. Marvel pointed out.

"Now now, let's not get into a fight," Chuck said. "Why don't we just go on with the game?"

"You accusing me of cheating?" Rogue stormed over to the other side.

"If the glove fits," Ms. Marvel went around the podium and stared her down.

"Or I could just stand backstage and let you work this out yourselves," Chuck gulped and ran off stage.

"We are not cheating! It's not our fault your team captain still thinks people write letters!" Bobby stormed over with the rest of the X-Men.

"There is nothing wrong with writing letters! It's a lost art that quite frankly none of you appreciate!" Captain America protested.

"You're just sore because we're beating you in a fair fight," Kitty sneered.

"You really want to see how you'd fare in a fight with us?" Hawkeye snapped.

"Please we can take you in our sleep!" Bobby crowed.

"Don't be so sure young one," Thor said. "I have bested Frost giants that were ten times your size. It would be easy to defeat a small one like you!"

"Yeah but I bet those Frost giants weren't as awesome as me," Bobby snapped.

"Is this really the best time for you to be showing off your egos?" Captain America asked. "This is for charity!"

"Our egos? Please the only reason you showed up was to try and put us mutants in our place!" Rogue snapped.

"Sounds good to me," Ms. Marvel snarled.

"Typical Avengers. You can't stand it when someone else hogs the spotlight from you for ten minutes can't you?" Kitty said.

"Like you drama freaks are **so camera shy**," Iron Man grumbled.

"For over the past two years all we've heard every night is mutant **this **and mutant **that!"** Hawkeye snarled. "Every time I manage to get some free time to watch a ball game it gets interrupted by **something** being done by a mutant **somewhere**!"

"Oh I'm _so sorry_ our struggle for equality and survival has interrupted your television viewing!" Kitty mocked.

"So **that's** what you've been doing when we needed your help," Rogue remarked.

"Yeah that's perfectly understandable," Kurt remarked. "Why help out mutants when you can watch baseball?"

"Oh shut up about that! What about all the times you never helped **us?**" Hawkeye shouted.

"Yeah!" Ms. Marvel agreed.

"How many times have we had to save the world and **none of you** were around?" Hawkeye shouted. He started counting on his fingers. "All those times Kang the Conqueror attacked. Baron Zemo. The Kree. Loki and the Chitauri invasion. Where the hell were you during then?"

"I think that last one we were out in space somewhere," Kurt scratched his head.

"To be fair we were fighting the Shi'ar Empire and their evil insane emperor who wanted to conquer the universe," Rogue pointed out.

"Right! And how about the time I had to phase that giant bullet to save the whole planet? I nearly got stuck in there forever!" Kitty shouted.

"Big freaking deal! We were all nearly stuck forever on the other side of the galaxy fighting the Kree!" Hawkeye shouted.

"We almost got completely destroyed by a giant alien armada that wanted to conquer the Earth!" Iron Man agreed. "I didn't see you there!"

"Like you're the _only ones_ that's happened to?" Rogue scoffed.

"Been there, done that," Bobby shrugged. "Besides Kitty's right. Being stuck in a metal bullet in space is way worse than being stuck on the other side of the galaxy."

"It is not," Ms. Marvel snapped.

"It is if you have claustrophobia!" Kitty pointed out.

"My point is that you mutants are always whining about how nobody helps you, yet you never seem to even **ask** for help!" Hawkeye snapped.

"That's because you guys are never around!" Kitty shouted.

"Face it, you mutants have a serious persecution complex!" Hawkeye snapped.

"That's because we're **always** being persecuted!" Rogue shouted. "The giant death robots wasn't a clue?"

"Drama freaks!" Ms. Marvel snapped.

"Oh really? Who had to bail your friend Thor out when he first came to Earth?" Rogue pointed. "He and his buddy Hercules started that bar fight!"

"And how many bar fights has your friend Wolverine started?" Thor raised an eyebrow.

"Cyclops can you please try to control your team?" Captain America was getting annoyed.

"Why don' t you control yours **first?**" Scott gave him a look.

"I am getting so tired of this," Captain America let out a breath. "Your team thinks you have it so hard…"

"Because we **do!"** Scott snapped at him. "It's hard to get any respect…"

"That's because you guys were technically vigilantes which by the way is against the law!" Iron Man snapped.

"When the law turns its **back** on us what choice did we have?" Kitty protested. "The X-Men were formed to save lives…"

"And drive the rest of us crazy!" Ms. Marvel snapped. "Your outlaw team literally gets away with murder!"

"Oh yeah? At least no one is complaining about locking you up in a cage like you are an animal at the zoo when you wreck stuff!" Kurt snapped.

"Let me guess, you don't read the editorials at the Daily Bugle much do you?" Iron Man folded his arms.

"What's the matter Stark? Upset that **one** or **two** people **don't** like you?" Rogue asked sarcastically.

"Why don't you get over yourselves?" Ms. Marvel got in Rogue's face.

"Why don't **you** get over **yourselves?"** Rogue snapped back.

"I can't believe that you out of control nutcases get away with murder and then complain about how nobody respects you!" Hawkeye snapped.

"We do **not **get away with murder!" Bobby snapped. "Okay I'll give you Wolverine but still…"

"You X-Men were little more than unauthorized vigilantes for years running amok outside the law and now you want instant respect? Doesn't work like that!" Iron Man snapped.

"That would sting more if it didn't come from the **multi-billionaire** who built himself his own set of weaponized armor for his own **personal use!"** Scott snapped. "From what I heard they practically had to throw the Black Widow in your face just to get your attention!"

"Hey don't throw Natasha into this!" Hawkeye snarled. "At least she didn't go crazy and wipe out thousands of people unlike your fiancé…"

"No, she just kills people SHIELD points in her direction!" Scott shouted.

"Why you…?" Hawkeye lunged forward. Scott lunged forward at the same time. Soon both X-Men and Avengers were scuffling on the set.

"Oh this was a bad idea…" The producer moaned off camera.

"Get out of my face Cyclops!" Hawkeye shouted.

"You get out of my face!" Scott shouted.

"Will you control yourselves?" Captain America shouted.

"Look who's talking!" Bobby shouted.

"GET OFF ME!" Ms. Marvel shouted. "WHOSE HAND IS ON MY ASS?"

"Oh sorry," Kitty called out. "My bad. I was going for…Never mind."

"For crying out loud Kitty can't you control your dang hormones for **one minute**?" Rogue yelled. "We got a fight going on here!"

"OW! WHO PULLED MY TAIL?" Nightcrawler yelled.

"That is it! I CALL UPON THE LIGHTING TO SUBDUE MY ENEMIES!" Thor yelled as he pulled out his hammer and raised it above his head. Everyone jumped back as lighting lit up the hammer.

Unfortunately the lighting also charged almost every metal appliance in the room and caused several fires all over the set. The audience fled in panic as everything burned quite quickly.

"What's with all the fire?" Bobby shouted.

"Cheap sets," Rogue said.

"Oh right," Bobby blinked. "I forgot this was Hollywood."

"Uh Thor, the lightning was kind of overkill," Iron Man gulped.

"Oops," Thor gulped.

Twenty minutes and several ambulances later…

"Boy…" Iron Man blinked. "That really got out of hand didn't it?" The heroes were all standing around the destroyed set. The set was now little more than a pile of ashes and broken metal. And huge piles of melted ice and snow.

"Yeah I didn't expect things to get that out of control," Bobby groaned.

"It really escalated didn't it?" Hawkeye asked.

"It did," Kurt looked around. "Did not expect that fire to burn down the studio that quickly."

"Sorry, my bad," Thor coughed.

"I suppose you're going to blame this on us too?" Rogue asked.

"Like you're completely innocent of all this?" Ms. Marvel asked.

"We're not the ones who set the stage on **fire!**" Kitty protested. "This time."

"YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF DRAMA FREAKS!" Fury shouted as he stormed in.

"Uh oh," Bobby gulped.

"Somebody's not happy," Iron Man remarked.

"You idiots are just lucky this show was taped and most of the audience was either military or SHIELD agents!" Fury growled. "I had a feeling something stupid would happen and surprise! It did! LOOK AT THE DAMAGE YOU ALL DID!"

"Yeah that was my bad," Thor admitted. "But I was provoked!"

"**You** were provoked?" Kitty shouted back.

"SHUT UP! DON'T START THAT AGAIN! ANY OF YOU!" Fury shouted. "Some freaking heroes you are. All of you cause damage! So don't give me any crap about who is worse than who!"

"Actually I think the phrase is who is worse than whom," Iron Man spoke up. Fury glared at him. "Just pointing it out."

"Gyrich passed out from hyperventilation when he saw the estimate for the bill for all the damage you caused!" Fury snapped. "I don't care about this crap anymore between your two teams! This ends now! Especially now that we have bigger problems!"

"Well as long as it give Gyrich a headache this wasn't so bad," Hawkeye chuckled.

"Give it a rest Clint," Ms. Marvel snapped. "What bigger problems?"

"Hurricane Sandy is wrecking the East coast!" Fury snapped. He pulled out a holographic projector which showed all the damage going on. "Although to be fair, it's only **half **as destructive as your teams are!"

"Oh," Bobby blinked. "That is a problem."

"Kind of puts our rivalry in perspective doesn't it?" Iron Man asked.

"Look, I know we have our differences," Captain America said. "Things haven't been as good between our two teams as they should be…"

"Understatement of the year," Bobby grumbled.

"We both have been acting stupid haven't we?" Scott groaned.

"Yeah, both teams," Captain America admitted. "Truce?"

"Truce," Scott agreed as he shook his hand. "Let's go save some lives!"


	23. Fury Gets His Groove On

**Fury Gets His Groove On**

"So much damage," SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson sighed as he looked at the report on his IPAD specially designed for SHIELD agents.

"Who would have guessed that a storm would do more damage than a whole pack of mutants?" Gyrich grumbled. He was walking with Fury, Coulson and Stanley down a hallway in SHIELD's headquarters.

"Told you there was such a thing as global warming," Stanley grumbled.

Gyrich ignored him. "At least we were able to get some good press out of it, even if we did have to share the spotlight with the X-Men. What we should do is get more SHIELD agents on the ground helping out. Maybe this will help people forget the whole Sentinel debacle?"

"Unfortunately the majority of SHIELD's resources must be focused on higher priorities," Fury told him.

"Higher priorities?" Coulson was stunned. "A hurricane wiping out nearly half the Eastern seaboard isn't a **high priority**?"

"Not when we need to protect the rest of the country, no," Fury told him.

"I normally don't agree with the ideas of subordinates or Stanley," Gyrich frowned. "But in this case I strongly urge you to reconsider. I've already sent the Avengers to help. I mean come on, we need some good press. Especially after the near debacle of the game show incident!"

"That never went on air," Fury said.

"Yeah, and a good thing too otherwise we'd all be out of a job!" Gyrich snapped. "I tell ya if I had known how many Avengers were a bunch of prima donnas and nut jobs I'd never have taken the job!"

"I take it you're not exactly happy with dealing with the Avengers?" Coulson said innocently.

"Dealing with them when they go to work fighting crime and disasters is one thing. Dealing with all the PR problems they cause individually is another!" Gyrich snapped. "I've already got a ton of bills from that producer and studio for the stadium they trashed. Even though the mutants caused half the damage I have to pay **all** of it!"

"It's not like it's coming out of your pocket Gyrich," Fury rolled his good eye.

"I had no idea that Stark Industries was charging us for all the technology they gave us!" Gyrich snapped. "Not to mention all the bills for walls, targets and other buildings the Avengers trash when they're having their fights! And I have to deal with squashing potential lawsuits!"

"What did they do this week?" Fury smirked.

"Besides getting into a brawl with the X-Men and trashing a studio?" Gyrich snapped. "Fifty thousand dollars to one man who got his teeth broken by Ms. Marvel. Apparently he hit on the wrong woman in a bar."

"And Ms. Marvel hit back," Fury groaned. "Wait what was she doing in the bar in the first place?"

"I'm glad you asked that. It seems Ms. Carol Danvers likes to drink. A lot. And guess who she went bar hopping with?" Gyrich snapped.

"Not Stark…" Fury moaned. "I thought he was on the wagon."

"It appears he has fallen off it again," Gyrich growled. "Along with Thor…"

"Oh boy…" Fury winced. "Let me guess. This is all about that incident in Cleveland last week isn't it?"

"How very perceptive of you!" Gyrich snapped. "Again do you have any idea how much I had to bribe people to keep that incident out of the news? I had to bribe the authorities. The media. The bar owner. The mayor. The fire department. The zookeepers at the Cleveland Zoo…"

"Yeah I was going to ask you about that," Coulson spoke up. "How did Thor get that rhinoceros on the roof in the first place?"

"I don't know and I don't **care!** And I don't care what the argument was between Hawkeye and Ant Man was when they decided to settle it with a brawl in that Chinese restaurant!" Gyrich snapped. "These maniacs are worse than the mutants! At least with the mutants I didn't have to cover up all the crap they pulled!"

"Must kill you now to have to let the X-Men and Misfits be heroes," Fury grinned.

"Heroes? Bah! Self-serving brats who cause more problems than they solve!" Gyrich growled. "And quite frankly from what I've seen of the Avengers first hand, so called regular super heroes aren't much better!"

"How did Bayville do during the hurricane?" Coulson asked.

"To be fair there wasn't that much left in Bayville to trash to begin with," Stanley shrugged. "And apparently between the vampires, Snake People and were animals there were already a lot of underground shelters so no loss of life there. Human or otherwise."

"I hear Mayor Danko has offered people displaced by Sandy a place to live in Bayville," Coulson spoke up. "And a few people have accepted."

"Why are they so insistent on having humans live in Bayville?" Gyrich growled. "Bayville should be mutant only! Or freak only!"

"I can understand Danko's thinking on this," Fury said. "Having a mutant only sanctuary may sound like a good idea but in reality all it will do is make for an easier target. In the long run, integration is the best hope that town has."

"You mean the best hope those mutants have," Gyrich snarled.

"Not just mutants. Vampires, were wolves, other were animals, Snake People…" Coulson listed the other inhabitants.

"More freaks and weirdoes," Gyrich grumbled.

"Oh and a few more magic users are rumored to move to Bayville soon," Coulson spoke up.

"Magic users?" Gyrich blinked. "You mean Espers?"

"Right. Apparently since Barumpbump defeated Apocalypse his status in the magical world has grown," Coulson explained. "He's convinced a few fellow sorcerers and witches to move to Bayville and set up shop. So to speak."

"Wonderful. More freaks to worry about in that dump," Gyrich snorted. "They may be human but magic users are a pain in the ass."

"Oh yeah that reminds me," Stanley spoke up. "I wanted to talk to you about that thing in Level 9 storage."

"Not now Stanley," Gyrich hissed.

"What thing in Level 9 storage?" Coulson asked. "Level 9 was cleared out for decontamination after the cube incident and the Chitauri invasion."

"Yeah but Gyrich put…" Stanley began.

"Shut up Stanley!" Gyrich interrupted.

"Put **what** in there?" Fury looked concern. "What did you do Gyrich?"

"Nothing major. One of our research teams discovered something and I had them put it in Level 9 until it could be properly examined," Gyrich waved.

"What exactly did you put in Level 9? And why wasn't I notified about it?" Fury snapped.

"It's **nothing**," Gyrich told him firmly. "We have it under control."

"You have **what** under control?" Fury glared at him.

"You ever see the show Eureka?" Stanley spoke. "Remember the episodes where they had this glowy ball thingy that gave out a lot of power? It's like that only it's a small rock and it's purple."

"Purple? Wait a second…No! You didn't! Gyrich take me to Level 9 **right now**!" Fury barked.

"Fine! Stanley one of these days we are going to have a discussion about what the words 'top secret' mean!" Gyrich snarled. "But since you are so paranoid Fury I'll show you."

"You have an unknown, unauthorized object that glows and gives out a lot of power and you think Fury is being **paranoid** about it?" Coulson asked as they followed Gyrich into an elevator.

"If this thing is what I think it is, it'll make the cube and Sentinels look like tinker toys!" Fury snapped as the elevator opened.

"I'm sure you are exaggerating," Gyrich grunted. "And technically the Sentinels themselves weren't a bad idea. The mistake we made was we left their programming to an idiot."

"Gyrich I **don't **want to hear about this right now…" Fury hissed.

"What we should have done was instead of having the Sentinels move independently we should have had human pilots in them," Gyrich went on. "**That **was the mistake we made! Depending on machines to handle mutants!"

"That and making them thirty stories tall and not caring if they walk on a civilian or two dozen," Stanley remarked.

"Hindsight again! Should have made them smaller. More maneuverable," Gyrich admitted. "We learn from our mistakes."

"So far I've learned that having you here was a **big mistake**!" Fury snapped as they made it to Level 9. The doors opened. "Now take me to this anomaly!"

"It's right over here," Gyrich led the way. "See? It's secure and safe! No need to panic!"

Fury stared at a strange glowing purple cube that was the size of a Rubik's cube. It was floating in a secure containment device surrounded by a force field. "Are you kidding me? Where the hell did you get **this?**"

"I told you, one of our research teams found it somewhere," Gyrich said. "I think it was the Rockies. They were doing some kind of geologic research and there it was buried in a cave somewhere."

"Wait is that a …?" Coulson gulped.

"Yes it is," Fury gritted his teeth.

"You know what the glowy thing is?" Stanely asked.

"The 'glowy thing' is a Gem of Amurulon," Coulson explained. "Think of it as an inter-dimensional battery containing mystic energy. A lot of sorcerers would kill for this thing."

"Damn it Gyrich! There's a reason SHIELD doesn't get involved with crap like this!" Fury spat. "Magic and the Supernatural are just too damn unpredictable!"

"Even worse than mutants?" Stanley asked.

"Are you kidding? That magic crap makes mutant problems look like a freaking cake walk!" Fury snapped. "We gotta get in touch with Dr. Strange! He'll know how to get rid of this!"

"Hold on! What do you mean _get rid of it?"_ Gyrich snapped. "If this thing is powerful all the more reason to keep it for ourselves!"

"You are a moron," Fury glared. "Magic is too temperamental and unstable."

Gyrich made a dismissal noise. "Magic is too unstable? The entire team of Avengers is **unstable!** And temperamental to boot! And the same can be said for half of SHIELD's employees and allies! Besides isn't it SHIELD's job to deal with possible threats to the world or power we can put to our own use?"

"Normally yes," Fury said. "But we learned a long time ago that the supernatural is not something you can just put in a box and contain and expect it to just stay there! The best policy is to contact the Sorcerer Supreme and let the magic users police their own problems."

"It sounds like a stupid policy to me," Gyrich snarled.

"That whole cube and Chitauri incident didn't teach you anything?" Coulson snapped. "Or what about those files I know you read about the GRANDPA unit back in World War Two? You know? When SHIELD's leaders thought it was a good idea to have a unit of vampires and werewolves and other supernaturals under their control?"

"GRANDPA?" Stanley asked.

"Short for Global Reaction Agency for Mysterious Paranormal Activity," Coulson explained. "It was a huge division of SHIELD back in the day."

"What happened?" Stanley asked.

"It started out all right but the vampires and werewolves didn't like being under our control," Fury explained. "Probably the only thing those two species agreed on in centuries. And it turns out that one of the vampires was Dracula's kid. One of his kids anyway. Not to mention we had a telepathic half fairy that became pretty powerful and didn't like what she heard from the minds of her handlers. To top it off she was in love with both a werewolf and a vampire."

"Think Twilight without the teen angst and True Blood without the accents," Coulson added.

Fury finished. "Long story short, they turned on us and the survivors escaped never to be seen again. GRANDPA was permanently shelved. And I got the job of the guy they killed."

"That's how you ended up head of SHIELD?" Stanley blinked.

"Yeah. It took me years to rebuild this agency after all the damage that was done," Fury grumbled.

"Is that why you didn't get involved in the Mutant Uprising?" Gyrich asked.

"I could see the writing on the wall. SHIELD was nearly destroyed once because it tried to control forces that were just too chaotic and I was damned if that was going to happen a **second time**!" Fury glared at him.

"So in other words you were pussyfooting around the entire Mutant Uprising because you were afraid of a little damage?" Gyrich snapped. "There are always going to be casualties when you deal with…"

"Forgive me Gyrich if I want to keep the list of **casualties **to a minimum!" Fury snarled.

"Look you are panicking over nothing! See? It's safe! No problems!" Gyrich pointed. "It's in the most technologically advanced force field we have."

"Boss you do remember magic and technology don't always mix that well right?" Stanley asked.

"Oh come on! It's just floating there not doing a thing!" Gyrich snapped. "What could possibly happen…?"

Just then the gem started to glow brightly. "Uh is it supposed to do that?" Stanley gulped.

"Every now and then it's said these things have a power surge," Coulson gulped.

"How big a power surge are we talking about here?" Gyrich asked.

"Big enough to take out our entire headquarters!" Fury snapped.

"No problem," Gyrich went to work on the controls of the storage unit. "I'll just up the containment volume!"

"No you fool! That will only…." Fury shoved Gyrich out of the way. Just before the gem sent out a purple volt hitting Fury. "AAAAAAAHH!"

"AAAAAAH! RUN! RUN FOR IT!" Gyrich, Stanley and Coulson ducked the bolts of purple lighting. The Helicarrier shook violently at the bolts. However the gem eventually calmed down.

"Okay we're still here. No harm no foul," Gyrich gulped.

"No thanks to you!" Coulson ran to Fury. "Fury! Fury! Can you hear me?"

"Ohhhhh…" Fury's body was badly burnt. He passed out in pain.

"Oops…" Stanley gulped.

"Uh I'm gonna go…file some paperwork," Gyrich coughed. "Come on Stanley!"

"Gyrich you jerk!" Coulson shouted as Gyrich and Stanley fled the room. "CALL THE MEDICS! NOW!"

Six hours later…

"Are you telling me Gyrich brought an unstable mystical power source onto SHIELD's headquarters and not only did he not put it in proper storage he let that damn thing get out of control?" General Hawk yelled.

"I'm afraid so," General Whithalf sighed. They were meeting with Hank, Xavier, Logan, Scott, Captain America, Iron Man and Hawkeye in a tent near the Xavier Mansion.

"Great. Gyrich screws us again," Scott groaned.

"We're lucky the whole incident didn't send the Helicarrier crashing into some city," Whithalf groaned.

"Yeah but Fury paid the price for Gyrich's stupidity," Logan grumbled.

"Okay I just came here to give you a message," Sparkle walked in. "Benny and Dr. Strange just took the gem to wherever it is going to be stored."

"Thanks Sparkle," Logan grunted.

"Sparkle? You're one of Magneto's former soldiers aren't you?" Captain America recognized her.

"Yeah. Me and a few others decided to leave and become X-Men," Sparkle said.

"I've asked Sparkle to help me with our plans for rebuilding the Xavier Mansion and help coordinate new security protocols," Scott asked. "I've found her invaluable working for me and keeping everything together."

"So you have one of Magneto's clone lackeys as your personal secretary?" Iron Man raised an eyebrow.

"First of all, the term is personal assistant," Sparkle gave him a look. "Secondly I'm not technically a clone. I'm a hybrid of Jubilee, Berzerker and Quicksilver's DNA. Not an exact copy."

"I can vouch for Sparkle. She has worked hard and I find her trustworthy," Xavier spoke up.

"Well we all know how much your word is worth Xavier," Hawkeye gave the telepath a look.

"Hawkeye….Please," Captain America sighed. "Let's get back on subject. So what is Fury's status?"

"About a few degrees short of being a Kentucky Fried SHIELD agent," Hank sighed. "Thanks to some of our medical equipment in our old headquarters in San Francisco we've stabilized him for now but…"

"With Fury out of circulation SHIELD is leaderless," Whithalf frowned.

"I see. What about the Board of Directors of SHIELD?" Logan asked. "You know? Those guys in the shadows that used to tell Fury what to do?"

"Apparently whoever the hell Fury reported to in the past are now…How shall I say it?" Hawk thought. "Given a pink slip."

"The whole Sentinels over New York debacle really cost quite a few major players their jobs," Whithalf told them. "Fury was lucky he didn't lose his."

"Considering the state he is in perhaps he was not so fortunate," Hank sighed. "If something isn't done soon Fury will be dead in less than 48 hours."

"Can't you just…You know? Get some magic users and heal him up?" Hawkeye asked.

"A whole battalion of magic users and mutant healers couldn't heal that damage!" Hank protested. "Besides there's too much magical discharge energy in his body! It's a miracle he's alive at all!"

"Oh this is bad," Hawk groaned.

"Look I feel bad about Fury too but if he's going to die…" Logan began.

"I know you and Fury are currently on the outs but even for you that is a bit callous and impractical!" Whithalf gave Logan a look.

"What do you mean?" Logan asked.

"If Fury dies Maria Hill should be next however since the whole Skrull invasion she's still being debriefed and on medical leave after her imprisonment," Whithalf explained. "Personally it is just as well because she is more ruthless than Fury. Since she is technically out of commission the next guy in charge will be the head of the Avengers."

"Wait are you saying…?" Logan was stunned.

"You want Gyrich to take over SHIELD completely?" Hawkeye snapped. "Knowing that guy, that is what he will do!"

"But that idiot caused the accident in the first place!" Hawk shouted.

"True but according to regulations he's next in line. Which is pretty convenient for him and inconvenient for the rest of us," Whithalf groaned. "Gyrich doesn't know that yet. I've been keeping him and Stanley under house arrest for an 'investigation' but even I can't let that moron stew there forever. Sooner or later he is going to find out about this and then we are all going to have problems!"

"He's right," Xavier sighed. "Unfortunately our medical abilities can do little more than keep him alive."

"Well unless you clone him a new body," Sparkle spoke up.

"What was that?" Logan looked at her.

"Clone him a new body. Dark Beast did that a few times for some of our soldiers," Sparkle told him. "I heard he even has one for Magneto if something happens."

"You're joking," Logan looked at her. "On second thought why does this **not **surprise me? Of course that jackass Magneto would use that technology for himself!"

"Cloning isn't universally illegal. Technically," Whithalf sighed. "Let's just say the military and SHIELD has dabbled in it for years."

"But you're not half as skilled as Magneto is," Xavier sighed.

"From what we've seen, I'm afraid not," Whithalf said. "However since Magneto does have the technology…"

"Oh this will work!" Logan threw up his hands. "Yeah we'll just go on down to Genosha, knock on Magneto's door and say: 'Hey Bucket Head, we need to borrow some of your cloning technology to save the life of Nick Fury. You know? The guy in charge of SHIELD and has been spying on you?**' **Piece of freaking** cake!**"

"Well not exactly in **those** terms," Whithalf winced. "But considering the situation we have to try diplomacy."

"I think I'd better accompany you," Xavier spoke up. "Magneto might be more receptive if I speak on your behalf."

"Not without me," Logan growled.

"Or me," Iron Man agreed.

"Oh sure," Hawkeye folded his arms. "Bring along a guy with a metal suit of armor and the guy with a metal skeleton along! **That** will work!"

"He's right. I'm going alone with Xavier, General Hawk and Whithalf," Captain America said.

"Not alone," Scott said. "You'll need a pilot."

"And someone who is trained to use nonmetallic weapons to watch your back," Hawkeye pointed to his bow. "I got quite a few low tech bows and arrows for an occasion like this."

"And I'll take one of the Misfits as our bodyguard," Hawk spoke up. "Wavedancer would be perfect in this situation."

"Why her?" Iron Man asked.

"Uh because Genosha is an **island?**" Hawkeye raised an eyebrow. "You know, surrounded by **water?** And you guys call me thick."

"Oh right," Whithalf blinked.

A several hours later…

"We're approaching Genosha," Scott said as he piloted the Blackbird. "Professor did you contact Magneto?"

"I did. I told him I am bringing Generals Hawk and Whithalf along with Captain America Wavedancer and Hawkeye," Xavier nodded.

"Uh Professor…?" Scott gulped as the controls of the plane froze but the craft still flew. "I think he's here."

"Oh goody," Hawk sighed. "Here we go."

The ship was brought in onto a beach. Magneto floated down alone. "Well Charles. I'm here. And alone. Which is more than what I can say for you."

"We haven't come for a fight Magneto," Scott said as they disembarked the ship.

"I've heard **that **before," Magneto folded his arms. "Usually these things end up in one huge fight. So what could be so important to make you all visit my island home?"

"Nick Fury was gravely injured and is dying," Xavier explained.

"Oh well that is good news," Magneto quipped. "Okay I would have settled for a phone call or a card…"

"Eric, we know about your cloning technology," Xavier said diplomatically. "And we want to use it to save Fury's life."

"I see. So you want me to lend you my…how did Fury describe it?" Magneto thought.

"Highly **illegal **and **immoral** technology in order to save the man's life?"

"Well yes," Whithalf shrugged.

"Nick Fury. The man who has been monitoring and spying on Genosha the second we claimed this island for myself wants to use the very technology he was trying to shut down to save his own skin?" Magneto asked.

"To be fair he doesn't exactly know about this," Hawk coughed. "He's kind of out of it so…"

"Oh I get it. You don't want me to use Genosha's advances in genetic technology to repopulate and renew the mutant race," Magneto glared at them. "But you have **no problem** using it to save one of your own! How ironic! Why should I even consider this?"

"Let's just say…SHIELD and the Avengers will owe you one," Captain America spoke up.

"Owe me one? How…Interesting," Magneto smirked. "By my calculations you owe mutant kind **more** than one don't you think?"

"Let's make this simple, Magneto, if Fury dies Gyrich will be in charge of SHIELD," Althea pointed out. "Even you have to admit that is a bad thing!"

"Especially for Genosha," Magneto sighed. "Fury may be a thorn in my side, but Gyrich will be intolerable."

"The first thing he'll do as soon as he gets any power is to wage full war against Genosha," Xavier said. "That is something nobody wants."

"Or is prepared for," Magneto admitted. "All right. I'll contact Dark Beast."

Twenty Four hours later in one of SHIELD's medical bays…

"This whole process is fascinating," Hank watched the body grow in the tank. "I had no idea Magneto and Genosha had such advanced genetic technology."

"Some of this you can thank Sinister for," Dark Beast remarked as he worked on a computer next to the tank. "After the Battle of Madripoor we were able to raid his lab and recover some of his research."

"Well that makes me feel **real good** about this," Logan grumbled. He was there along with General Hawk and Todd. "I know why Hawk and I are here with Beast. To keep an eye on things. But explain to me again why Toad is here too?"

"Because Pyro was too busy painting the tanks purple," Hawk said matter of factly. "Don't ask."

"I won't. But at least with Toad I know things won't be set on fire," Logan grumbled. "Are you sure this will work?"

"Based on my past work Fury has a fifty-fifty chance of surviving with a new body," Dark Beast said.

"How many times have you done this procedure?" Hank asked.

"Twice," Dark Beast said. "But I know where I went wrong the last time! Believe me I am not going to make the mistake of having lunch while doing surgery again! Or leave my equipment in the body. Or use too much electricity to stimulate the body's neurons."

"Oh god…" Logan winced. "Fury's doomed!"

"He's fine! The procedure is not that difficult once you get the brain out of the original body which we already did," Dark Beast waved. "Think of it like transferring a hard drive of one computer into another newer faster computer with a bit more memory."

"Really?" Hawk blinked.

"Basically once you remove the brain you just plop it into the new body while it is in its protoplasmic stage," Dark Beast explained. "This is necessary in order to transfer and grow all the nerve tissue. And due to the goopy nature of the new body it's surprisingly faster. Currently Fury's new body is in the skin building phase."

"You mean covering the muscles and getting harder?" Logan asked.

"Exactly," Dark Beast nodded. "His brain is exactly the same but his body will be younger. As long as everything goes to plan he will have an exact copy of his old body when he was in in 30s!"

WHOOOP! WHOOOP! WHOOP!

"What the?" Dark Beast gasped. Everyone turned around and saw Todd leaning against the computer.

"TOAD!" Hawk yelled.

"Oops," Todd blinked. "I think that button must do something."

"Get away from there you idiot!" Logan yanked him away. "What did he do?"

"Nothing serious. Fortunately all that button did was add in some extra melatonin," Dark Beast waved.

"Mela-what?" Todd blinked.

"Melatonin. Skin pigmentation," Dark Beast waved. "Completely harmless."

"Uh Dark…" Hank pointed to the tank.

"Oh," Dark Beast looked inside the tank. "Well there is **that**…"

"Why did you think it was a good idea to bring **him** in here and not Pyro?" Logan shouted at Hawk while pointing to Todd.

"I have no idea…" Hawk groaned.

Three days later…

"Uhggghhh…" Fury moaned as he lay in a hospital bed.

"Fury? Are you with us man?" Whithalf was heard speaking.

"Yeah barely," Fury grumbled. He opened his eyes and saw Whithalf, Hawk, Logan, Hank and another version of Hank only furrier and darker standing next to him. "I must have been hit harder than I thought. I'm seeing two Beasts."

"Uh you are, technically," Dark Beast shrugged.

"Wait…seeing? My eye! It's…" Fury then realized he could see out of both eyes. "What the…?"

"Fury you had a bad accident," Hawk tried to explain.

"Understatement of the year," Fury remembered and winced. "So what…?" He then looked at his hands. They seemed very unfamiliar. "That stupid gem must have roasted me…Wait a minute. I need a mirror!"

"Now before you do see yourself I must say that this is some of the best work…" Dark Beast began.

"Wait a minute! I know you! You're Dark Beast! One of Magneto's henchmen! What is he doing here? Whithalf what is going on?" Fury shouted. He then noticed something else. He touched his head. "What happened to my hair! And my skin?"

"Okay short version your old body got fried so we made you a new one," Logan shrugged.

"What do you mean made me a new one?" Fury snapped. "Why does my voice sound different? Somebody get me a mirror!"

"I still think you look very good considering all you went through," Dark Beast handed Fury a mirror.

"What the hell did you maniacs **do** to me?" Fury yelled. He was now an African American with a bald head.

"I told you. We made a deal with Magneto and he had Dark Beast over here grow you a new body," Logan said. "We just put your brain in a younger version of you."

"YOUNGER? THIS BODY IS NOTHING LIKE ME WHEN I WAS YOUNGER!" Fury shouted. "I don't even sound the same!"

"I gave you a bit more reverb in your vocal cords to make you stand out and you have bit of a tan…" Dark Beast waved.

"A BIT OF A…I'M BLACK YOU MANIAC!" Fury snapped.

"And **that's **a problem?" Dark Beast gave him a look. "Racist!"

"Well at least both your eyes work now," Beast suggested.

"Yes they do! But…Oh never mind," Fury waved. "I just need some time to adjust to this!"

"Could be worse Fury," Hank quipped. "You could be blue and have fur!"

"Yes wouldn't **that **be a tragedy?" Dark Beast mocked.

"It was Toad who did this to me wasn't it?" Fury grumbled.

"How did you know that?" Dark Beast asked.

"Lucky guess," Fury groaned. "I don't freaking believe this!"

"It's not that bad," Logan said. "Actually it's a good look on you."

"Sorry it's just a shock when you pass out and wake up a completely different color!" Fury snapped.

"I can sympathize with that," Hank shrugged.

"And why am I **bald**?" Fury touched his head.

"Oh yeah that was another little problem," Dark Beast waved. "Sometimes in non-mutated subjects it's hard to trigger hair growth in the new body. Good news we were able to grow you some eyebrows. And you might be able to grow a mustache and a goatee."

"And the bad news?" Fury glared at him.

"You're gonna save a fortune on haircuts and body waxing," Dark Beast told him.

"Did Toad do this to me too?" Fury snapped.

"No, this was my bad," Dark Beast waved. "Cheer up Fury. You have two working eyes now and you're not paralyzed. And if they ever need a body double for Samuel L. Jackson, you're in!"

"Wait not paralyzed?" Logan asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Remember I told you that this surgery had a fifty- fifty chance of success?" Dark Beast asked. "Well that was what happened to the other fifty. But he's fine so no worries."

"You put my life in the hands of **that maniac**?" Fury pointed to Dark Beast.

"It was either this or let Gyrich get any power," Whithalf gave him a look.

"I see your point," Fury grumbled. "So to recap, you grew me a new body so I could still stay on at SHIELD. EVEN THOUGH I LOOK COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AND SOUND COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN I DID BEFORE!"

"Calm down, we figured that out too," Hawk said.

"Oh good. As long as you have a plan," Fury said sarcastically.

"We've made a point to update your profile…" Whithalf gave him a folder. "Legally you are now your own son Nicholas Fury Jr. It's all there. Fake marriage. Fake wife…"

"We made her into a supermodel slash spy who died in childbirth," Hank said.

"Let me guess, you let Toad write my bio?" Fury asked sarcastically.

"No, we got Pyro to do it," Hank explained. "We thought we could use a professional writer on this one."

"He's actually quite good at writing cover stories for us," Hawk shrugged. "Anyway we put a story in the obituary about your old body saying you got killed during a fight with Hydra. And your son has been in deep cover for years and is now taking over SHIELD."

"Naturally no one knows who you really are except of course the people in this room," Whithalf said.

"And Toad," Hawk reminded him. "And Pyro. And Wavedancer. And…"

"Well the Misfits of course but they can keep a secret along with the X-Men who also know," Whithalf shrugged.

"Naturally Captain America and the rest of the Avengers know as well," Hawk explained. "As well as Gyrich, Stanley, Maria Hill, Phil Coulson and all A Rank SHIELD agents."

"Your barber has been notified as well," Hank remarked. "He wasn't that upset."

"And of course Magneto knows about all of this," Dark Beast said. "And he's informed the Genoshan High Council and Military leaders about your transformation. And I did mention this project to my assistants because you know they had to bring in all the equipment here to SHIELD…"

"Of course you did," Fury rolled his now two good eyes. "No one else knows right?"

"Uh…" Logan realized something. "Well Shipwreck knows because we all had to explain why we needed Wavedancer to talk to Magneto and….But that goes under Misfits. Oh…Yeah. I may have said something to Rocker Danko…"

"The Mayor of Bayville knows too?" Fury shouted.

"To be fair it wasn't Wolverine's fault," Hawk said. "Toad sort of told half the story to him when he called and then Wolverine had to explain what was going on and why we had to reschedule a meeting."

"Cordelia Frost and her assistant Mongo know too because they were there and we had to reschedule a meeting about…Well that's not important," Hank coughed.

"So in other words only **half **the people in the world know!" Fury snapped. "How reassuring!"

"Remember you are your own son," Dark Beast said cheerfully.

"Thank you. I **never** would have figured that out," Fury glared at him. "So what's the catch? I'm sure Magneto didn't just donate my new body out of the goodness of his heart."

"Good news, we hammered out a deal to let Magneto use his genetic research to help repopulate Genosha and we lifted a few restrictions," Whithalf said. "Nothing major. Just made it easier for Genosha to get food and basic supplies from the outside world."

"Magneto will be allowed to do mutant cloning as a species restoration project," Fury glared at them. "How is that a **good thing**?"

"Look we all knew Magneto was going to use his cloning technology to make himself an army," Logan pointed out. "At least this way we can keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't completely turn the mutants he creates into weapons."

"And he can't use any X-Men or Misfit DNA to do it," Hank nodded. "He agreed to that."

"The mutants he does create will be born as infants and allowed to live some kind of childhood before they can join the Genoshan army at 18," Logan said. "Every few months Charles will personally go to Genosha to observe the process."

"It may not seem like much but at least this way we have some control over the situation," Whithalf nodded.

"As long as we have **some control,"** Fury groaned. "One more question…Why was Toad allowed near the lab where you grew my new body?"

"Because Pyro was busy painting some tanks purple," Hank said matter of factly.

"Purple! I should have made you purple! You would look **great** in purple!" Dark Beast said cheerfully.

"And you were worried about **Toad **having access to your new body?" Logan asked Fury.

"You have a point," Fury moaned.

Two days later…

"Well I have to admit, all things considered this body isn't half bad," Fury remarked as he stood in front of Rocker's tent in Bayville. Many of the X-Men and Misfits were there along with Rocker. "It's weird seeing out of two eyes again. It's still an adjustment."

"I would think the whole race change thing would be a bigger shock," Rocker said crudely.

"Not really. I like this new look and this new body," Fury said. "It's just strange for me looking in a mirror and seeing a face that's not my old one."

"Join the club," Hank snorted.

"Anyway I thought I'd personally come and thank you for…Well this," Fury said.

"You also have to thank Magneto and Dark Beast," Xavier pointed out.

"Don't remind me," Fury groaned. "Anyway I have to get back and…"

"Squeeak!" Something furry seemed to come out of nowhere. It brushed past Fury. "What the….?"

"Oh yeah," Logan said as the thing turned out to be a cute furry squirrel. "We've been having a few problems with mutant squirrels around here."

"Mutant **squirrels?**" Fury gave him a look.

"Don't ask," Logan sighed. "They're super-fast and super annoying."

"Cheee! Cheee!" The squirrel seemed to try and nibble something.

"Is that my wallet? That thing stole my wallet!" Fury shouted. "Give that back!"

"CHEEE!" The squirrel held the small wallet in its teeth and ran into the woods.

"Come back here you stupid squirrel!" Fury ran after it.

"Dang, those squirrels are good," Remy whistled. "Could have used them in the Guild that's for sure."

"I'd better help him," Logan sighed as he ran after Fury.

"Got you now sucker!" Fury shouted.

"Fury wait!" Logan shouted. "Some of those things can shoot lasers from their…"

"SQUEEEE!"

ZAAAAAAP!

"AAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Fury was heard screaming.

"Never mind…" Logan sighed.

"Oh that can't be good," Todd winced as Hank and Lina went off to help.

"Wolverine what happened?" Rocker asked as Logan came back.

"Uh you know how Fury said he was going to have to adjust to having two eyes again?" Logan asked.

"Yes," Xavier felt a huge headache coming.

"He no longer has that problem," Logan winced.

The next day in Fury's office at SHIELD…

Fury sat at his desk with his new eye patch in the same spot. "I really am beginning to **hate **Bayville. And squirrels. I definitely hate **squirrels!**"


	24. The Phoenix Bride

**The Phoenix Bride**

The next chapter of Bayville chronicles one of the most important, yet insane conflicts in the history of Mutantkind. It was a time of rebuilding lives as well as the town. It was a time of complete insanity and abandonment of common sense.

It was the battle of Jean's Wedding.

Jean's wedding was taken over by one X-Man and one Misfit. And each wanted to outdo the other. Scott and Jean decided it was best if they didn't get involved other than showing up.

The two camps were quickly and firmly decided. Those under Kitty's command were her top general Danielle 'Mirage' Moonstar followed by Bobby 'Iceman' Drake (Who was in charge of the ice sculptures and the non-alcoholic beverages.) Under Pietro's command was his top general Wanda and Lance 'Avalanche' Alvers.

It is to be noted that Wanda did more of the ordering around than her brother. And even though Lance hated wedding planning, he hated the idea of his ex-girlfriend winning even more. He threw himself into the world of fashion faster than a seven year old with her first Barbie. The teams were as follows.

Shadowcat: Quicksilver

Mirage: Scarlet Witch

Iceman: Avalanche

Nightcrawler: Toad

Havok: Blob

Husk: Willow

Techna: Arcade

Sparkle: Xi

There were those who could not take part in the conflict. Althea 'Wavedancer' Delgado was immediately cordoned off from the battle. She had a more important job keeping her father from getting too drunk and spiking the punch. This was a very important job because Shipwreck had a habit of making punch nearly every day.

Rogue and Remy volunteered to stay neutral and handle the photography. It turned out that Remy had an interest in it and Rogue decided that she preferred to stay behind the camera than in front of it. The added bonus was that this job put them in the perfect position for future blackmail.

Pyro was ordered to have nothing to do with the wedding for obvious reasons. But he found ways around this order as you will soon see.

As the day of the wedding grew closer the preparations grew grander and more insane. Kitty's team was in charge of the cake (with Kitty signing a legal waver that she would **not** bake it), the drinks, the guest list, the decorations and any other minor details.

Pietro's team was in charge of the wedding dress, the bridesmaid dresses, the food, the music, the flowers and the wedding reception.

This explains the scene behind the still being built Xavier Institute two days before the wedding.

"Scott?" Jean asked in a worried tone as she looked out into the backyard from a completed window. "What exactly do you know about our wedding plans?"

"As little as possible," Scott told her as he joined his fiancé. "I have enough nightmares as it is. Besides I'm the groom. My job is basically to show up."

"That's what I thought," Jean sighed. "I knew you had nothing to do with that!"

Scott looked out the window. "What the…?"

"I know. That simple gazebo Quicksilver was supposed to build looks more like the Taj Mahal," Jean groaned.

"The gazebo's not that bad," Scott said. "It's the orchestra and mariachi band that worries me."

"I'm not even going to ask where Quicksilver got those," Jean groaned. "Or how he hired them."

"Probably the same place Kitty hired all those fireworks," Scott said. "Which of course some of them are being set off already for some reason."

"Nothing compared to the fireworks our insane team mates are making with the Misfits," Jean said. "What's Kitty's problem? I think the flowers Willow made are lovely. I don't think they clash with my dress."

"Telepathy?" Scott asked.

"Just a tad," Jean sighed. "Only to pick up a stray thought or two. Of course I wish I didn't get any thoughts from Bobby and his ideas of what to do with the ice sculpture."

"That better not be you," Scott growled.

"Scott I don't think even Bobby would do a naked ice sculpture of me on our wedding day," Jean sighed. "It's one of the Kardashians."

"Why…?" Scott asked.

"Kitty's orders. Apparently anything Kardashian is fashionable this season," Jean groaned.

"Not to mention those giant fountains over there," Scott pointed. "What are they?"

"I believe one fountain is dark chocolate, one is milk chocolate and the other is white chocolate," Jean remarked. "Oh wait that last one is a milkshake fountain."

"Are those _emus?_" Scott's jaw dropped. "What are **emus** doing at our wedding?"

"Probably the same thing those anteaters are," Jean pointed. "And the elephants."

"Did Toad raid a zoo again?" Scott asked. "There better not be any giraffes at this thing!"

"At least giraffes are quiet," Jean sighed. "Oh look Pietro is having a hissy fit about something."

"Oh look. Bobby has iced his feet and made him fall down," Scott said. "Not to mention for some reason Paige and Alex are having a tug of war over a banner."

"And Kitty has now taken a page from Pyro's book and set the flowers on fire," Scott remarked.

"Where did she get the flamethrower from?" Jean asked.

"Probably borrowed it from Pyro," Scott said. "Doesn't stop Willow from tackling Kitty with the grace of a linebacker."

"And for some reason Danielle is chasing Xi around with an axe," Jean remarked. "A very big axe. Oh look she's chopping up some of the seats."

"Not doing half as much damage as Ororo is," Scott pointed. "Okay I know why she would chase Shipwreck around with lightning bolts. But why Logan and Hank?"

"Who knows? Scott this is not the wedding I wanted," Jean groaned.

"I don't think this is a wedding **anybody** would want," Scott said. "We have to do something."

"Agreed," Jean said.

"So what do we do?" Scott asked. "Go down there and straighten this mess out?"

BOOOOOOOOOM!

ZAP!

"YEOWWWW! STORM! I SAID I WAS SORRY!" Logan yelled. "HIT SHIPWRECK! HE DESERVES IT!"

"DIE ICEMAN DIE!" Pietro shouted.

"WATCH OUT! THE CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN IS GONNA BLOW!" Lance shouted.

"SAVE THE PIES!" Fred was heard yelling.

"FORGET THE PIES!" Hank shouted. "SOMEBODY SAVE **US!"**

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Are you crazy?" Jean gave him a look. "I'm not going down there!"

"DANIELLE! KNOCK IT OFF! YOU ARE TOTALLY WRECKING THE SEATING ARANGEMENTS!" Kitty shouted. "NOT TO MENTION THE SEATS!"

"AAAH! THE GAZEBO'S ON FIRE!" Kurt was heard screaming. "AGAIN!"

"SORRY! THIS TIME IT WAS MY FAULT!" Alex called out. "MY BAD!"

"So what do we do?" Scott asked.

"We run off to Vegas and elope," Jean said.

"Sounds good to me," Scott nodded as the two left to plan their escape.

Unfortunately for them both teams had the foresight of placing spies in order to make sure an event like this didn't happen. They temporarily joined forces and caught up to both of them at the West Wall.

After much pleading and cajoling (which didn't work because Scott and Jean were brought back despite their arguments) the teams finally decided to get their act together. They even signed a paper. The Non Insanity Treaty which stated that no one would start or instigate or escalate any kind of fight. Upon pain of eating one of Kitty's muffins.

Nobody wanted to break that rule.

And so the day finally arrived and things were going surprisingly smoothly. Just before the wedding Jean was alone for a moment to gather her thoughts in one of the underground rooms of the Xavier Institute that survived. She looked at herself in a beautiful wedding dress and placed her veil on her head. "Well…This is it," She took a deep breath.

"Wow…We really did look beautiful didn't we?"

Jean turned around and to her shock she saw herself wearing her Phoenix uniform, but this time it was gold and white. "Who…What…? You look like **me**!"

"I am you, about two hundred and thirty five years from now," Phoenix told her. "So we're about…256 or is it 257? I kind of stopped counting birthdays when I hit two hundred."

"You're…We're over two hundred years old?" Jean gasped. "We lived **that long?"**

"Give or take a few hours. We did die at least twelve times, or was it fifteen? No…Sixteen," Phoenix thought. "But we keep coming back. Let's just say most of our deaths weren't pointless. Except for that one time in LA. Word of advice, never get into a fight with a relative of Milan Carlton over shoes."

"Okay…" Jean sat down on the bed.

"I know the Earth year is 2247," Phoenix thought. "Where I'm from anyway. Never mind. The point is I thought I'd travel back in time to visit my younger selves. And this was one of the happiest memories of my life. Okay it didn't end well but…"

"What do you mean didn't end well?" Jean asked.

"Nothing. Forget I said that," Phoenix waved. "You and Scott will be happy. For a while anyway. If there's anything I've learned over the centuries is that true happiness is fleeting. You have to grab it and enjoy it while it lasts."

"So you're…We're from the future…" Jean blinked.

"You know that's true. You're trying to sense me but you can't quite do it can you? I mean how do you read your own mind?" Phoenix smirked. "But yes I am. I think we just established that fact."

"So…About what happens in the future…Not just about Scott. But did we do it? The X-Men? Is there peace or…?" Jean began.

"I'm not gonna lie. It's not all going to be easy. For the next hundred and twenty years things are going to be a little rough," Phoenix sighed. "Okay really rough. But by the time you hit 2160 everything turns out fine. We even get a mutant American president by 2165."

"Wow. That's something at least," Jean let out a breath.

"Yeah something. I've been to a few alternate universes you know? Or we will in the future," Phoenix said. "Compared to some of them this universe is a freaking paradise. Especially the one where the Scarlett Witch wipes out the mutant gene and nearly destroys mutant kind in one fell swoop."

"I remember hearing about that," Jean frowned. "Does that…?"

"Happen in this universe? No. Not to the Wanda you know," Phoenix said. "It was the Joes and the Misfits that changed all that. Not to mention that little warning given to all the other incarnations back at the Nexus. Good thing too. It caused enough damage in one universe and wrecked dozens of others."

"You mean what happens in some dimensions can affect others?" Jean said.

"Yes and no. Normally this isn't the case, because each dimension is separate due to all the choices and paths taken within them but…Sometimes…" Phoenix sighed. "Let's just say that things have finally gotten somewhat back on track in that part of the Nexus. But not without a heavy price. Let's just say the less you know right now the better. But that path won't happen in this dimension. Too many differences and variables changed the future."

"Can I ask you something?" Jean asked.

"I don't know. **Can** you?" Phoenix smirked. "Just kidding. Go ahead."

"Is Scott…I mean are Scott and I…" Jean began.

"Jean it's been two hundred and thirty five years! What do you **think?"** Phoenix gave her a look.

"Oh…" Jean said.

"To be fair, there's more of our group around in the future than you would expect," Phoenix shrugged. "I mean Sam is an Eternal and he's the leader of Earth's heroes in my time. Think Captain America plus the world plus the galaxy. I forgot what he calls himself now. He's changed his name a few times over the centuries."

"Really?" Jean asked.

"Yeah and it turns out one of his brothers is also an Eternal as well as two of Rogue and Remy's kids," Phoenix said.

"Rogue and Remy….?"

"Get together and stay together for over fifty years. At least in this universe," Phoenix nodded. "It took a while but they managed to work around Rogue's little problem. They have five kids and two of 'em become immortal. And a grand kid of theirs becomes the Vice President of the world council so they do all right."

"Wow," Jean was surprised.

"And Pryde is still around. Or should I say President Pryde?" Phoenix smirked.

"She becomes…?" Jean gasped.

"I know. I lived through it and I'm still stunned but she was a good one," Phoenix nodded. "Helped write the world council charter."

"How is she still alive?"

"Between her powers and Ogun's life force inside her she's pretty well kept. Looks like she's still only in her fifties," Phoenix nodded. "She didn't really start aging until she became the Mayor of Chicago."

"Anyone else? Logan…?"

"He died about ten years ago in my future. But Laura is still alive and several of her sisters. And several of Wolverine's descendants are running around," Phoenix said. "One's even the ruler of the mutant planet Haven. So that's something."

"Wait sisters?" Jean asked. "As in more than one?"

"Uh huh. For some reason Wolverine got cloned. A lot," Phoenix explained. "Plus you know how Magma keeps getting reincarnated? You run into her future reincarnations more than a few times along the way. Word of warning, the Magma in my time is a brat. He will really try your patience."

"He?"

"Yeah Magma is usually a girl but every now and then a guy gets thrown into the mix and they are…problematic," Phoenix sighed. "Not evil. Just problematic. And you do run into Amara and many of her other lives a lot on the Astral Plane so…"

"So there's no one else…" Jean sighed.

"I didn't finish," Phoenix said. "Iceman is still alive. Well if you can call the state he's in now living. Goes omega and about a hundred and something years from now he saves the world from melting polar ice caps. But he has to stay there forever…It's kind of a long story. Like Darwin's who is also still alive."

"So he's the last Misfit? Darwin I mean."

"No, Avalanche is the last original Misfit/Brotherhood member," Phoenix looked around the room. "In about twenty five or so years he gets infused with some mystical Earth force. I forgot which. There are a lot of them and it was so long ago."

Phoenix paused for a moment. "I forgot how this room looked. For some reason I thought it was bigger."

Phoenix then remembered something. "Oh and one of Kurt and Amanda's kids is still around. Technically he's not an Eternal but Kurt has a granddaughter that is. Kurt's son is living with Grandpa Azazel who unfortunately is still alive. But fortunately nothing more than a nuisance to a few people. One of Beak's kids turns out to be an Eternal. And three descendants of Toad and Althea just became Eternals so there's quite a few of us still running around."

"That many?" Jean was stunned.

"Mutants are a surprising and stubborn bunch," Phoenix snorted. "Well look who I'm talking to."

"What about…?" Jean hesitated. "Do I ever…?"

"Jean we don't have to worry about that," Phoenix waved. "That is only a threat to us if we go out of control and burn the entire planet. And that won't happen. Well not on Earth anyway."

"What do you mean by that…?" Jean was stunned.

"The Shi'ar will make the stupid mistake of coming back and attacking the Earth. Twice," Phoenix smirked. "They won't do it a third time. I made sure of that. **We** made sure of that. Time travel is confusing. I know."

"What did you…What did I…?" Jean was stunned.

"What do you **think **we did?" Phoenix snapped. "They tried to wipe out our family and our world too many times. They had to be dealt with. What's left of the Shi'ar will never hurt anyone else again. And after what we did, all those other alien races…The Skrull, the Chitauri, the Kree…A few dozen other aliens races that try to wipe us out…Even Kang the Conqueror will think twice before trying to conquer the Earth. In fact I **know** he wants to stay as far away from us as possible!"

"What did we do?" Jean asked again.

"I have to spell it out for you?" Phoenix sighed. "God I was so thick back then. I destroyed their stinking planet and their so called mighty empire and burned it into ashes. Then I gave the survivors nightmares so bad their great grandchildren will have them. But as you may have figured out…I saved the Earth at a price."

"No…" Jean was shocked at her future self.

"Truth be told I'm technically not supposed to even be on Earth now," Phoenix sighed. "I've been in exile in outer space for almost fifty years. It wasn't all bad for the most part. Saw a lot of the universe. Helped quite a few races."

"And destroyed how many others?" Jean glared.

"Only the ones that deserved a little destruction," Phoenix looked at her. "That's right. You still have that human morality in this time. You haven't died and resurrected yourself as many times as I have. You don't know what it means to be a god yet."

"I'm not a god! And neither are you! I'll never be you!" Jean snapped.

"This was a mistake," Phoenix sighed. "I shouldn't have come back and revealed myself to you like this. Don't worry. We…I mean you won't remember it anyway. It's for the best."

Jean was about to say something when she stiffened up. "I'm going to erase the majority of this conversation. You'll…We'll never remember it," Phoenix used her powers.

"Except for this. Just remember," Phoenix said softly. "Be happy while it lasts. Remember that."

Phoenix calmly walked out the door and closed it behind her.

And stared right at Althea and Todd in the hallway.

"How much did you hear?" Phoenix sighed.

"The part about you blowing up other planets like they were plastic toys," Todd gave her a look.

"Relax. Don't let the dragons out," Phoenix waved. "I'm only here for a brief visit. She doesn't remember seeing me anyway."

"Don't even **think **of trying to do that to us," Althea glared at her.

"Or we might think of doing something that might mess up the carpet," Todd agreed.

"You know. I miss you two. The new guardians of the Destiny Stones aren't **half **as much fun as you are," Phoenix sighed. "Who would have thought that one of **your **descendants would be so uptight? I don't think he's ever laughed a day in his life. And the other one…Ugh. Boring. So perfect and prissy…"

"Worse than **you?**" Todd quipped.

"Touché," Phoenix shrugged. "I just forgot how…limited I was in this time."

"Do you need a reminder of how un-limited we can be?" Todd growled.

"Relax. I'm going. I'm going back to my time and I'm not going to do any time travel again," Phoenix held up her hands in surrender. "Sheesh. You threaten to burn your home planet to ashes **once** and nobody ever lets that go! It's not like I succeeded…"

"I can't help but notice how much you sound like Emma just now," Althea gave her a look.

"Emma…Oh yeah. The bitch," Phoenix thought. "I haven't thought about her in…Never mind. It's all in the past. Where it should stay. And to answer your question…When you've died and resurrected yourself over a dozen times…Then watched so many of your friends and family die and not come back…It changes you."

"You stop caring about what people say or do. And as long as you don't kill somebody's loved one or burn down their house it doesn't really matter for what you do either. You just don't care about what other people think and say what you want. You become less…attached," Phoenix thought aloud.

"Is that why you're here?" Althea asked. "Because you've lost some attachments?"

"After over two hundred and thirty something years you're bound to lose more than a few," Phoenix sighed. "I just want you to know…I may do some…questionable things in the future. But I never, ever put the Earth or mutant kind in danger like I did on M-Day. Never again. Almost everything I have done…Everything I will do…Will be to help mutants or protect the Earth."

Phoenix stepped back. "And if that means losing a few dozen attachments or leaving the planet…So be it. Maybe this wasn't a mistake after all? Maybe I just needed a brief reminder of what I've lost…What I've sacrificed for a better world. I'd say this is goodbye but well…I'm still going to be here for quite a while. So…"

With a blink Phoenix vanished. "Just when I think the Phoenix Force can't screw with our lives any more," Althea groaned.

"Should we tell 'em?" Todd asked. "I mean should we tell somebody what we saw here?"

"No," Althea shook her head. "Let's keep this our secret. No need to worry anyone just yet."

"Well at least we know we got about two hundred and thirty years to put **that** off," Todd let out a breath.

"Something tells me that the way Phoenix will be in the future. Won't necessarily be our problem," Althea frowned. "She said there were two guardians of the Destiny Stones. And you and I both know there's only one way the Destiny Stones can be removed."

"In other words we're gonna be dead by then," Todd frowned.

"And at least one of our descendants is going to have to fix our Phoenix Problem," Althea nodded.

"So what do we do?" Todd asked.

"I'm gonna go write a note to the future," Althea told him. "That's pretty much all we can do. And hope it's enough to warn the next holders of the Destiny Stones."

"Hey is Jean ready yet?" Rogue walked up wearing a lovely green dress. "It's about time this show got on the road."

"Oh yeah," Althea covered. "We were just about to check on her. Right Todd?"

"Yeah, check up on her. Make sure she doesn't get kidnapped or something," Todd nodded eagerly.

"I'm not even going to ask what you two are hiding," Rogue sighed. "I think I want to be surprised if something goes wrong."

"Is it that obvious?" Todd asked.

"Like a rhinoceros in a ballet," Rogue gave him a look.

"It's not what you're thinking," Althea waved. "Jean was just trying to bolt again but we heard her talk herself out of it."

"That's true," Todd nodded. "Technically."

Althea discretely kicked Todd in the shins. "OW!" He yelped. "What did I do?"

"Just go and tell the guys that we're almost ready," Althea sighed.

"Just as soon as Cyclops finds his tie," Rogue nodded.

"Finds his tie?" Althea asked.

"He couldn't tie his tie and asked Beast for help," Rogue explained. "But he couldn't tie it either along with half the guys in the mansion. Then Lockheed flew by and…"

"Never mind," Althea held up her hand. "There are some things we are better off not knowing."

"Ain't that the truth," Todd grumbled.

The wedding was a grand and wonderful event. Everyone in Bayville attended. Jean had Ororo give her away. It was quiet and dignified and beautiful. (The animals and mariachi band had been removed due to Jean's insistence.) In fact it was the only dignified event the mutants ever had.

The trouble started after the wedding.

It would later be known as the Great Reception.

It is said that several factors contributed to the madness and the chaos. One was that the mutants of Bayville needed a release from the stress of M-Day and rebuilding the town. Another was that the stress of all the various species moving in and learning to live in the same area was starting to boil over and that a decent party was just the thing to break the ice.

But the biggest contributor to the madness was the huge supply of alcohol at the reception. A truckload of champagne was donated by the Kingpin himself as a wedding gift. Another truckload by Darkgrin and the werewolves deciding it might be a good time to make peace with their neighbors. Not to mention half the town brought alcohol to the wedding and the other half made their own.

Which explains how by the end of the evening the reception turned into one huge drunken frenzy.

It is important to note that even though Ororo claimed to get drunk and used that as an excuse for her behavior, there is video camera footage as well as a breathalyzer test issued after the Great Reception that belied her claim. She was proven to be completely sober.

Mostly because she was one of the people who accidentally spiked one of the punch bowls. She was trying to wrestle a bottle of homemade alcohol from Shipwreck and in the process accidentally spilled all the contents in the punch bowl herself. A fact also proved by the tape.

Also caught spiking punch bowls was Randall Ring Tail, Dracula, Cordelia Frost (who admitted she wanted to get her sister drunk), Mondo (Who wanted to get Cordelia drunk so he could have a night off from lovemaking), Rocker, and a half dozen other people.

Strangely enough even though the majority of the town woke up with one of the largest collective hangovers in the history of the world, most people ended up in a better mood with their neighbors even though they were still rivals. It was a bonding moment that brought the species together.

The biggest unintended effect of the Great Reception was that after that night more than half of the population of Bayville ended up pregnant. Mutants, humans, were animals, snake people and others all got drunk and impregnated that night. Including Althea Delgado, Amanda Sefton, Starla Vandermeer, Willow, Doctor Celia Reyes,

Very few were left unscathed. The un-impregnated included Kitty Pryde, who had accidentally phased herself into a closet and fallen asleep. Ororo Munroe who did have relations with Shipwreck but used more birth control than the entire city of Singapore. Paige Guthrie and Danielle Moonstar…Mostly because they were 'experimenting' with each other. (It was a brief one-time thing) Laura Howlett because she was too busy chasing squirrels all night with Penny. And Rogue. For obvious reasons.

She and her boyfriend Remy Lebeau were filming the entire event and used the film for effective blackmail for many lucrative years to come.

Especially when the next generation of mutants became old enough to pay for information.

But that is another story for another day.

**Okay that's all there is for now. There will be more adventures when my muse lets me think of anything. **

"That's it?" Todd walked out with Scott, Jean and Althea.

"Red's being lazy again," Althea grumbled.

"No, she just knows real talent when she sees it," Cobra Commander walked out. "She's just writing more stories about yours truly."

"Aren't you dead anyway?" Todd asked. "In this series I mean."

"Ha! I'll be back! Red already has a plan to bring me back," Cobra Commander waved.

"Oh goody. More to look forward to," Scott grumbled.

"I don't even **want **to know how you get brought back," Jean grumbled.

"Why are you guys complaining about this?" Althea asked. "Let her torture **him** instead of **us** for a change!"

"She has a point," Todd nodded.

"Oh yeah," Scott realized. "Have fun Cobra Commander!"

"What?" Cobra Commander realized what had happened. "No! Wait!"

"PENNY GET BACK HERE!" Logan was heard yelling.

"Penny?" Cobra Commander looked around. "AAAAAH!"

"Rar! Rar! Rar!" Penny charged at Cobra Commander on all fours.

"AAAAAAHHH!" Cobra Commander ran away from the pink mutant. "GET HER AWAY FROM ME!"

"Hey Cobra Commander! Wanna say hello to Mister Flickers?" Pyro was heard calling off stage.

"What? NO! AAAAAAAAH!" Cobra Commander ran the other way being chased by a dragon made of fire and Penny. "FIRE! FIRE BAD! I DON'T WANT TO GET SET ON FIRE AGAIN! AAAAHHH!"

"I feel better already," Scott said cheerfully.

"What are all these squirrels doing…?" Cobra Commander was heard off screen.

ZZZZAPPP!

"CHEEE! CHEE!"

"AAAAAAH!" Cobra Commander screamed again.

"You know Red does have a point," Todd said. "We could use a break!"

"A vacation wouldn't be so bad," Jean admitted.

"AAAAAAH!" Cobra Commander ran by being chased by Penny, Mr. Flickers, several squirrels with lasers coming out of their eyes and some pink winged cats. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"Anybody want to go to Vegas for a week?" Todd spoke up.

ZZZAPP!

"YEOWWWW MOMMA THAT HURTS!" Cobra Commander screamed.

"I'll go pack," Jean smirked.


End file.
